REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - British house prices ended six months of consecutive falls in October, reflecting a lack of homes being put up for sale, but prices are still lower than a year ago, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday.
Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), said house prices in October were 1.1% higher than the month before, the first increase since March on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.3% monthly drop in September.
This is likely to have strengthened prices in the short-term, rather than prices being driven by buyer demand, which remains weak overall," Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said.
Compared with a year earlier, house prices in October were 3.2% lower versus a 4.5% annual decline in September, leaving the average house price at 281,974 pounds ($347,279), nearly 10,000 pounds lower than a year earlier.
Halifax said it expected further falls in house prices, and a return to growth in 2025.
Persons:
Toby Melville, Kim Kinnaird, Kinnaird, David Milliken, Sarah Young, Kate Holton
Organizations:
REUTERS, Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of England, Thomson
Locations:
Bristol, Britain, Halifax