UK house price growth remains at near four-year low

British house price growth remains at its weakest level for nearly four years, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday, echoing other signs of a slowdown in the housing market amid uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on the economy.

House prices rose 3.8 per cent in the three months to April compared with the same period a year ago, the same pace as in March, which was the weakest increase since May 2013.

Economists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected the pace of house price growth to slow to 3.6 per cent.

Prices fell by 0.1 per cent between March and April, the first monthly decline since January, and were down 0.2 per cent in the three months to April compared with the previous three months, the first such fall since 2012, Halifax said.

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Martin Ellis, an economist with Halifax, said the slowdown reflected the strong increase in prices between 2014 and 2016 as well as the squeeze on household finances caused by rising inflation and a weakening in the labour market.

Rival mortgage lender Nationwide has said British house prices fell for a second month in a row in April and the Bank of England said last week number of mortgages approved in March was its lowest in six months. – (Reuters)