House prices in Britain fell by 0.6 per cent during May as the property market continued to slow down, the country's biggest mortgage lender said today.
According to Halifax, the cost of a home increased by just 0.1 per cent during the first five months of the year as increases seen in some months were soon wiped out by falls in others.
It added that the annual rate of inflation was also continuing its downward trend, falling to just 5.7 per cent for the year to the end of May, down from a peak of 22.1 per cent in July last year.
The group said the market was operating within a narrow band of price volatility and was flat overall. It said the outlook was unchanged, and it continued to predict prices would end the year 2 per cent lower than they started in 2005.
Tim Crawford, Halifax group economist, said the annual rate of house price inflation was at its lowest rate since May 2001 and was expected to fall further over the coming months.
Halifax said sales were around 30 per cent lower than they were last year, although there had been a rise in the number of people putting their homes up for sale, creating a buyers' market.
PA