UK Home Prices Decline for the First Time Since March

According to figures released by Halifax, a mortgage lender, British house prices unexpectedly fell last month for the first time since March. However, house prices ended the year higher than in December 2023. Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, the largest mortgage lender in the UK, reported that house prices fell by 0.2% in December after a 1.2% increase in November, and rose by 3.3% on a yearly basis, falling short of the 4.2% increase predicted in a Reuters poll of economists. Economists had anticipated only a 0.4% increase in house prices for December. Nationwide reported a 0.7% month-over-month increase in house prices in December, while Bank of England data showed that mortgage approvals, a leading indicator for prices, fell to their lowest level since August in November. Halifax mentioned that in the second half of 2024, house prices may be supported by a decrease in mortgage rates, ongoing increases in real wages, and some buyers looking to make purchases ahead of a planned increase in property taxes in April 2025.