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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
James Andrews

House prices slip in June as sellers sit tight and buyers bargain hard

Between May and June house prices fell by 0.3%, as potential buyers and sellers sat on the fence waiting for more clarity around what would happen with the Conservative leadership contest and Brexit .

But we're nowhere near a crash yet.

Figures from Halifax show the average UK house price stood at £237,110 in June, lower than May but 5.7% higher than a year earlier.

Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said: "Average house prices dipped marginally in June, falling by 0.3%, to stand at £237,110. This extends the largely flat trend we've seen over recent months.

"More generally the housing market is displaying a reasonable degree of resilience in the face of political and economic uncertainty.

"Recent industry figures show demand looking slightly more stable, with mortgage approvals ticking along just above the long-term average."

But prices are being held up, and sellers held back by the number of properties for sale, with Galley calling the lack of homes on the market a one of the "major restraining factors" on the volume of transactions.

He said: "With the ongoing lack of clarity around Brexit, people will be looking for more certainty in the coming months, both to encourage them to list their property and to create the confidence needed to encourage buyers."

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: "The ongoing uncertainty with regard to Brexit continues, resulting in many people putting decisions on hold and a lack of property coming to market."

(Press Association)

Mark Manning, managing director of Leeds-based estate agent Manning Stainton, said: "The property market is holding strong across the North, and in Leeds prices are still very much on the up, helped by the sheer weight of buyer demand."

Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said: "The latest Halifax house price numbers, showing a monthly dip in values, are not going to encourage buyers to make a commitment while prices continue to soften."

But he continued: "We are finding that some buyers, including some investors, are looking beyond Brexit and political uncertainty and are prepared to go ahead if they can perceive value."

Gareth Lewis, commercial director of property lender MT Finance, said: "In the buy-to-let space we are finding that investors are looking for bargains and will only buy at the right price."

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