LONDON (Reuters) – British house prices rose for a fifth month in a row in February, climbing by 0.4% from January, according to data from mortgage lender Halifax on Thursday that echoed other signs of a recovery in the housing market.
In year-on-year terms, prices rose by 1.7%, slowing from a 2.3% increase in the 12 months to January.
The average price of homes was around 1,800 pounds ($2,293) below a peak recorded in June 2022, before the market slowed as the Bank of England raised interest rates and was then hit by bond market turmoil under former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Kim Kinnaird, a director at Halifax Mortgages, said the boost from a recent fall in the costs of borrowing to buy a home was likely to dissipate.
“Although lower mortgage rates, alongside expectations of Bank of England interest rate cuts this year, should help buyer confidence in the short term, the downward trend on rates is showing signs of fading,” Kinnaird said.
The month-on-month increase in house prices recorded by Halifax was the slowest in the five-month run of gains.
House prices in London showed their first positive annual growth seen since January 2023, rising by 1.5% from February last year, Halifax said.
Rival lender Nationwide said last week that its measure of house prices in annual terms rose for the first time in more than a year.
($1 = 0.7850 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Kate Holton)
