2
May
Halifax house price index records fall for April
House prices fell by 1.3 per cent in April, according to Halifax's
latest house price index.
The bank states that the standardised average UK house price is now
0.9 per cent lower than at this time last year, at
£189,027.
Although it expects there to be a mid-single digit decline in
overall house prices this year, Halifax also suggested that there
will be significant regional variations, with Scotland actually
seeing "modest price rises".
Wales and the West Midlands on the other hand are likely to see
falls above the national average, according to the bank.
It also recommended that this dip in house prices should be
considered in the context of the meteoric house prices rises of the
last decade.
"A growing economy, high employment levels, low interest rates and
a shortage of new homes underpin housing valuations," Martin Ellis,
Halifax's chief economist, commented.
Nationwide also released its house price data this week, which
followed a similar pattern to Halifax's - it found that prices fell
by 1.1 per cent last month, taking them to a level one per cent
lower than in April 2007.
