(Alliance News) - UK house prices eased again in February as the housing market's soft start to 2021 continues, the latest figures from Halifax showed on Friday.
On an annual basis, house price growth was 5.2% in February, slowing slightly from 5.4% in January. On a monthly basis, prices fell 0.1% in February, having declined 0.4% in January.
The UK mortgage lender said average prices stood at GBP251,697 last month, broadly unchanged from GBP251,968 in January.
Going forward, the housing market found support in Wednesday's budget statement, as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended the stamp duty holiday on house purchases until the end of June.
Sunak also outlined a mortgage guarantee scheme to help buyers with small deposits get on the property ladder.
Halifax Managing Director Russell Galley said: "The housing market has been at something of a crossroads at the start of this year, with upcoming events key to determining the path of activity and prices over the next few months. The government's decision to extend the stamp duty holiday - one of the main drivers of demand from home movers during the pandemic - has removed a great deal of uncertainty for buyers with transactions yet to complete.
"The new mortgage guarantee scheme is another welcome development from this week's Budget. Whilst mortgage approvals have reached record highs in recent months, hitting levels not seen since before the financial crisis of 2008, raising a deposit continues to be the single biggest hurdle for first-time buyers to overcome. In the longer-term, the performance of the housing market remains inextricably linked to the health of the wider economy. The pace and extent of recovery are still highly uncertain, and much will depend on the ongoing success of the UK's vaccination rollout."
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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