Halifax revises down house price growth after reporting error

Halifax reported that house prices in the first quarter of the year were 3.2% higher than in the same three months of 2018.

However the correct figure is 2.6%, below the annual growth of 2.8% recorded in the three months to February.

In a statement, Halifax said: "A calculation error was made by the index owner IHS Markit in deriving the smoothed annual percent change figure. This error has now been rectified and additional checks added."

All other figures remain the same. On a quarterly basis, prices grew by 1.6% in Q1 compared to Q4 2018.

House prices fell by 1.6% on a monthly basis, rebalancing the 5.9% rise seen in February.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “The average UK house price is now £233,181 following a 1.6% monthly fall in March. This reduction partly corrects the significant growth seen last month and again demonstrates the risk in focusing too heavily on short-term, volatile measures.

"Industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages being approved remains around 40% below prefinancial crisis levels, and we know that lower levels of activity can lead to bigger price movements.

“The more stable measure of annual house price growth held steady at 2.6% and is still within our expectation for the year. The need to build up a deposit before getting a mortgage is still a challenge for many looking to buy a property. However, the combined effect of fewer houses for sale and fewer people looking to buy continues to support prices in the long-term.

“These conflicting challenges, when combined with the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, have had an impact across the country but most notably in London, meaning that we continue to expect subdued price growth for the time being.”