The latest (Q1) House Price Index (HPI) from Halifax has revealed that Midlands is leading the UK, with regards to house price gains, while London has seen its first annual fall in prices since Q4 2012.
The first quarter data indicates the slowest annual rise in UK house prices since Q1 2013 (+3.6%), with the average UK property price reaching £219,618, up £7,732 from Q1 2016.
The strongest annual rise in house prices was recorded in the West Midlands (+10.6%), while on a year-on-year basis, property prices in London dropped by 0.2% during Q1 2017.
The data revealed that UK property prices were essentially flat in Q1 2017, compared with the final quarter of last year. This signalled a loss of momentum following the 2.7% quarter-on-quarter rise in Q4 2016. A slowdown in UK house price growth was also seen in the year-on-year comparison for Q1 2017. At +3.6%, the annual measure eased from +6.5% in Q4 2016 and signalled the weakest rise in property prices since Q1 2013.
