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Halifax sees house prices rise
08/03/2006 13:10:00
The latest Halifax house price index has revealed that property prices rose during February, countering the slight fall witnessed in January.
Prices rose by 1.4 per cent to take the cost of an average home in the UK to £173,498, the highest level of inflation since June 2005.
Despite the 0.2 per cent drop in prices in January, the increase this month means that house prices were 5.5 per cent greater in February 2006 compared to the same month the year before.
Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "This mixed pattern of monthly price rises and falls is a typical feature of a slower housing market.
"The combination of improving economic growth, low interest rates and high employment will continue to underpin a healthy level of housing demand over the next few months."
Halifax predicted that there would be a slow down in prices rises towards the end of the year, with average prices settling at three per cent higher than the year before.
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