House prices fall 3.1% in April: Halifax

House prices in the three months to April were 0.1% lower than in the preceding three months, the third consecutive decline on this measure.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “We’ve seen annual house price growth ease from 2.7% in March to 2.2% in April. House prices in the three months to April were 0.1% lower than the previous three months. Both the quarterly and annual rates have fallen since reaching a recent peak last autumn, with these measures providing a more stable indication of the underlying trend than the monthly change.

“Housing demand has softened in the early months of 2018, with both mortgage approvals and completed home sales edging down. Housing supply – as measured by the stock of homes for sale and new instructions – is also still very low. However, the UK labour market is performing strongly with unemployment continuing to fall and wage growth finally picking up. These factors should help to ease pressure on household finances and as a result we expect annual price growth will remain in our forecast range of 0-3% this year.”

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and former RICS residential chairman, commented: "Although a little historic, these figures are disappointing as there is a market of sluggish growth and transactions, despite still showing modest price rises. And yet we are entering what is supposed to be the busy spring buying season, which tends to set the tone for the rest of the year.

"More recently, activity and listings have picked up but we are finding the market still quite sensitive and only those prepared to negotiate hard are moving on.

"Now that interest rates are unlikely to go up this month, hopefully there will be more interest, and particularly from first-time buyers, to take advantage of competitive mortgage deals and realistic prices."

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, added: "All eyes are on the Monetary Policy Committee this week as they announce the latest movement in interest rates, with many predicting that they will rise. However, Governor Mark Carney poured water on those rumours recently so it may not happen - this time. What we have seen is a number of lenders raise mortgage rates in recent weeks on the back of higher Swap rates but they are still very reasonably-priced as lenders compete for business in a fairly subdued market."