Housing market stabilised by easing mortgage rates, says Halifax
House prices rose in all UK nations and regions last month, though the annual rate of growth continued to slow in most areas.
The figures show property values across the country increasing for a third straight month, after four months of declines following the spike in mortgage costs caused by Liz Truss' ill-fated mini-Budget.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said:
The principal factor behind this improved picture has been an easing of mortgage rates.
The sudden spike in borrowing costs that we saw in November and December has now been largely reversed, and while rates remain much higher than the average of the last decade, across the industry a typical five-year fixed rate deal
(75pc LTV) is down by more than 100 basis points over the last few months.It's also important to recognise that the labour market, a key indicator for house prices, remains strong, with unemployment at a historical low of 3.7pc, and pay growth continues to look robust.
House price growth down dramatically from June peak
Average house prices increased by 0.8pc in March, following a 1.2pc rise in February, according to Halifax.
The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 1.6pc, according to the index, its weakest growth rate in three and a half years and a dramatic fall from the peak in June last year of 12.5pc.
This took the typical UK property price to £287,880.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said:
Overall these latest figures continue to suggest relative stability in the housing market at the start of 2023 and align with many other recent industry surveys and data.
This has been characterised by a partial recovery in activity and transactions, especially when compared to the significant drops seen at the end of last year, with latest Bank of England data showing mortgage approvals rising for the first time in six months.
Good morning
House price growth was at its weakest annually since October 2019, according to lender Halifax.
It said the average sale price stood at £287,880 last month, with was 0.8pc up on February but only a 1.6pc annual gain.
It comes as rival lender Nationwide said house prices have fallen by 3.1pc in the biggest annual decline since July 2009.
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What happened overnight
Asian stocks sank while bonds and safe-haven currencies increased as mounting evidence of a US slowdown fuelled worries about a possible global recession.
Equity investors were inclined to take money off the table after recent strong gains and with many global markets heading into a holiday for Good Friday, when potentially pivotal US monthly payrolls data is due.
Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3pc, making it the region's worst performing major market alongside South Korea's Kospi , which sank the same amount.
Chinese blue chips eased 0.4pc. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sagged 0.4pc, with tech shares on the index down 1pc.
Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday following the latest signals that the Federal Reserve could pause interest rate increases in response to a slowing US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2pc to close at 33,482.72.
However, the broad-based S&P 500 finished 0.3pc lower at 4,090.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1pc to 11,996.86.
The price of US Treasuries rose, pushing down yields as weaker-than-expected reports highlighted a slowdown in the US jobs market and services sector, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve could soon loosen monetary policy.
The 10-year yield dropped by as much as eight basis points, falling to a low of 3.26pc. It is the benchmark bond's lowest level since mid-September.