UK AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE FALLS FOUR MONTHS IN A ROW

The average UK house price fell for the fourth month in a row in December, according to Halifax, with exerts expecting a further slowdown amid a long recession.?

Property values decreased by 1.5% in December, the lender’s monthly index revealed, after a 2.4% drop in November, a 0.4% decrease in October and a 0.1% dip in September.

The annual rate of house price growth more than halved, to 2% in December, from 4.6% in November. That marked the lowest annual growth rate recorded since October 2019, when a 1.1% increase was recorded.

The UK housing market has been through an unsettling period in recent months. The Bank of England has raised interest rates nine times in the past year, and it believes that the country has already entered what could be the longest recession in 100 years. Mortgage payers forced to refinance their loans are among the worst hit by the cost of living crisis after many found their annual bills increasing by more than ￡3,000 a year.?

Higher interest rates have also deterred housebuilders from embarking on new projects. The difficulties for house sellers in 2022 were compounded by the UK government, whose disastrous “mini-budget” under then Prime Minister Liz Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in September triggered a surge in mortgage rates.