House prices unexpectedly fell 1.5 per cent in February, the first drop since June last year, mortgage lender Halifax said today.
The decline followed a downwardly revised 0.4 per cent rise in January and left prices 4.5 per cent higher in the three months to February compared with a year ago.
Halifax said increased supply, poor weather and the end of a tax holiday for some homebuyers had all contributed to the fall, though it noted property prices were still 8 per cent higher than in April last year.
"An increase in the number of properties available for sale has helped to reduce slightly the imbalance between supply and demand," said Halifax's housing economist Martin Ellis.
"At the same time, the bad weather in the first two months of 2010, together with the return of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £125,000, are likely to have had an adverse impact on housing demand."
Halifax said the average price of a home stood at £166,587 in February.
Today's survey was the latest in a string of figures to point to a cooling in the housing market.
The Nationwide building society reported a 1 per cent fall in house prices last month and Bank of England figures showed mortgage approvals fell to an 8-month low in January.
Reuters