But in the three months to the end of October prices were 0.3% lower than the preceding three months and this measure of the underlying trend has turned negative for the first time since June.
What is clear is that the monthly indices are roller coasting up and down. There have been five monthly rises, four falls and one month of no change.
The average price of a house in October was £163,311, some 0.3% or £508 higher than at the end of last year. Annually prices were 1.8% lower, the lowest annual fall since December 2010 at 1.6% and continues the improvement since May when prices were 4.2% lower.
Property sales have stayed within a narrow range around 70,000 per month so far this year, according to HMRC figures. The industry wide number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase, a leading indicator of completed house sales, has, however, nudged higher in recent months. There was an 8% rise between the second and third quarters on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite the first monthly fall since April in September.
Overall, housing market conditions have been broadly unchanged since the end of 2010. The ratio of house sales to the stock of unsold properties on surveyors' books, as measured by RICS's monthly survey, has shown little change since November 2010 with both the stock of unsold properties and the number of sales largely static over this period. These steady market conditions have helped to stabilise house prices and sales.
‘The housing market has proved highly resilient in recent months despite the weak economic recovery and the deterioration in the outlook for both the UK and global economies. Despite these developments, house sales and the supply of properties for sale have remained very stable since late 2010,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax.
‘The prospect of exceptionally low official interest rates over the foreseeable future is likely to continue to support the market in the face of a very difficult economic climate. Both prices and activity levels are expected to remain close to current levels over the coming few months,’ he added.
