British house prices stagnate as market remains subdued

British house prices stagnated month-on-month during June, as economists polled by Reuters had expected, figures from Halifax showed this week.

The mortgage lender revised up May’s reading to show a 0.3 per cent drop rather than a 0.4 per cent drop.

The data underlined the subdued state of Britain’s housing market following an increase in tax on property transactions that took effect in April.

House prices on Halifax’s measure are now down slightly compared with their level at the end of last year.

Amanda Bryden, Halifax’s head of mortgages, said the housing market still showed resilience, helped by rising wages.

“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, we continue to expect modest house price growth in the second half of the year,” Bryden added.

Halifax said house prices were 2.5 per cent higher on the year during June, down slightly from May’s reading of 2.6 per cent.