UK house price growth remains at its lowest level in nearly four years, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday, as the housing market continues to struggle amid the economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and as inflation begins to bite.
The annual rate of growth remained at 3.8 per cent from March to April in the three months to April, the lowest since May 2013. While that beats the 3.6 per cent growth rate forecast by Reuters, it is less than half the 10 per cent peak reached in March 2016.
Prices fell by 0.1 per cent between March and April in April from March, the first monthly decline since January, and were down 0.2 per cent in the three months to April compared with the previous three months, the first quarterly fall since 2012, Halifax said.
Martin Ellis, an economist with Halifax, said the slowdown was due to “the deterioration in housing affordability” caused by the sharp increase in prices between 2014 and 2016 as well as “a squeeze on households’ finances” caused by rising inflation and a weakening in the labour market.
The Bank of England said last week the number of mortgages approved in March was its lowest in six months.
The figures follow warnings from economists that housing market could experience a downturn following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
In June last year, Halifax data showed house price growth had cooled ahead of the referendum as buyers lost confidence in making big investments.
