House prices fell 1% last month following the vote to leave the EU, a survey by Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, shows.
The month-on-month fall took the average house price to £214,678. The decline was the third this year and largely offset a 1.2% increase in June. Figures for a single month can be erratic and Halifax focuses on quarterly trends, where growth is slowing.
In the three months to July, prices rose 1.6% from the previous quarter, up from growth of 1.1% for the three months to June but “comfortably lower” than earlier in the year, Halifax said. The bank’s survey follows figures from its rival Nationwide a week ago that showed prices rising 0.5% in July.
Many analysts expect house prices to fall amid economic uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote on 23 June. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has predicted a slump in property transactions, with its members more gloomy about prospects than at any point since the late 1990s.
Economists at the French bank Société Générale have said London prices could fall 30% and halve in the most expensive boroughs. Foxtons and other estate agents have warned that business has slowed sharply since the referendum. However, Halifax said current growth rates appeared sturdy and that there was not enough evidence of any Brexit effect on house prices.
Martin Ellis, Halifax’s housing economist, said: “There are signs that house price growth is slowing with a deceleration in both the annual and quarterly rates of increase in the past few months. It remains too early to determine if there has been any impact on the housing market as a result of June’s EU referendum result.”
