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UK house price boom is cooling
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The long house price boom in the UK has come to an end, and prices have begun to fall again, according to the country's largest mortgage lender, Halifax.
However, pointing to its monthly price survey the company said it was too early to speak of a downward trend in prices.
In November, prices fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% from the month before. On a year-on-year basis, though, prices were still up by 10.7% - which is one of the sharpest increases for more than a decade.
In October, annual house price inflation had stood even higher, at 10.8%.
According to the Halifax, last month's price drop was a reaction to the sharp 2.8% rise during October.
The Halifax report is the third published in the past two weeks to suggest that house prices rose more than 10% year-on-year.
Interest rate hike is felt
One of the main reasons for the cooling down of the housing market has been the string of interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.
In their report, the Halifax analysts note that the rate rises had been "dampening demand".
"The slowdown in house price growth since the summer has occurred as the beneficial impact on the market from the substantial cut in interest rates between last October and June this year has eroded".
Despite record house prices in the Southeast of the UK, the Halifax does not believe that housing is too expensive. As mortgage rates remained significantly lower than in past years, the Halifax believes that housing is still "affordable" in a historical context.
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