British house prices continue to drop

House prices continued to edge lower last month and the market is expected to remain subdued but stable into 2013, the Halifax said yesterday.

The typical house price fell to £159,486 in September, representing a 1.2 per cent fall on a year ago and a 0.4 per cent drop month-on-month, the bank’s figures showed.

It is the third monthly fall in a row, with prices 0.5 per cent lower than three months ago.

Halifax highlighted HM Revenue and Customs figures which showed recent sales have remained stable, at between 75,000 and 77,000 per month between May and August.

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “The generally weak economic climate remains a significant constraint on housing demand. We expect house prices to be broadly unchanged over the rest of this year and into 2013.”