LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK house prices remained flat in June after falling last month as more first-time buyers returned to the market, data from the mortgage lender Halifax showed on Monday.
House prices stagnated on a monthly basis, reversing May's 0.3 percent decrease. Prices were forecast to fall 0.1 percent.
At the same time, annual growth in house prices softened to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent in the preceding period.
'The market's resilience continues to stand out and, after a brief slowdown following the spring stamp duty changes, mortgage approvals and property transactions have both picked up, with more buyers returning to the market,' Halifax Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden said.
Rising wages and stabilizing interest rates in recent months gave people more confidence to plan ahead, Bryden noted.
'Lenders have also responded to new regulatory guidance by taking a more flexible approach to affordability assessments,' said Bryden.
However, she observed that stretched affordability, uncertain economic backdrop, above target inflation are challenges.
Nonetheless, with markets pricing in two more rate cuts from the Bank of England by year end, and the average rate on newly drawn mortgages now at its lowest since 2023, Bryden continues to expect moderate growth in house prices in the second half of the year.
The BoE has lowered the benchmark Bank Rate four times since last August. The previous change was in May, when the rate was cut by 25 basis points.
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