January sees sharpest house price fall since April

House prices in January saw the sharpest fall since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

On a monthly basis, house prices in January were 0.3% lower than in December, the biggest monthly fall since April last year.

The fall brings average property values to their lowest since October last year in further signs that the housing market is beginning to flag.

However, prices were still 5.4% higher than they were in January 2020, with the typical property worth £13,000 more than a year ago.

The figures chime with Nationwide’s latest survey, which also found that house prices had dropped by 0.3% in January after six solid months of increases since lockdown restriction were eased at the end of June.

Rightmove has also reported three months of “asking price” falls in its own monthly surveys, despite recording its busiest new year start ever at the beginning of last month, when it said that site visits were up 30% on the same period in 2020.

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said: “There are some early signs that the upturn in the housing market could be running out of steam”.

He said that the annual rate of house price inflation had cooled to its lowest level since August, while new instructions had “decreased noticeably” and total stock held by estate agents had risen to its highest level since before the 2016 EU referendum.

“How far and how deep any slowdown proves to be is a challenge to predict given the prevailing uncertainty created by the pandemic. 

“With swathes of the economy still shuttered, and joblessness continuing to edge higher, on the surface this points to slower market activity and downward price pressures in the near-term.”