The UK housing market exhibited overall stability in May, with a slight decline in house prices, according to data released by the mortgage lender Halifax on Friday.
House prices unexpectedly fell by 0.1 percent month-on-month in May, following a stagnant performance in April. Analysts had anticipated a growth of 0.2 percent.
The average cost of a house now stands at GBP 288,688, a minor decrease from GBP 288,862 in the preceding month. On an annual basis, house price growth accelerated to 1.5 percent, up from 1.1 percent the previous month, marking the sixth consecutive increase.
Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax, noted that UK house prices remained largely 'static' in May.
Bryden highlighted resilient market activity throughout the spring, driven by strong nominal wage growth and improving consumer confidence.
"This has been reflected in a broadly stable picture regarding property price movements, with the average cost of a house remaining relatively unchanged over the past three months," Bryden commented.
"While homebuyers and those remortgaging will continue to respond to changing borrowing costs, given the limited supply of available properties, the market is unlikely to experience significant fluctuations in the near term," Bryden added.
Last week, data from Nationwide Building Society indicated that house prices increased by 0.4 percent in May following two consecutive declines.
In May, the Bank of England (BoE) maintained its interest rate steady at 5.25 percent for the sixth consecutive meeting, the highest rate since early 2008. Additionally, the BoE suggested that the first rate cut since 2020 is forthcoming.
