MNI DATA ANALYSIS: UK House Price Lowest In 5 Years: Halifax

--Halifax UK Oct House Prices +0.7% m/m; +0.2% 3m/3m; +1.5% 3my/y

     LONDON (MNI) - UK house price inflation eased by a full percentage point to

a five-year low in October, according to data from Halifax, one of the UK's

leading mortgage providers.

     Annual house price growth dropped to 1.5% 3m y/y from 2.5% 3m y/y in

September, the lowest level in a half-decade. 

     Annual data are non-seasonally adjusted.

     The more volatile monthly numbers showed house prices returning to growth,

up 0.7% m/m, declining 1.3% and 0.2% in September and August respectively. 

     On a quarterly basis, house prices rose 0.2% in the August-October period

relative to May-July, down from growth of 1.8% 3m/3m in the previous two months.

     Whilst a fairly downbeat annual reading, the growth rate "remains within

our forecast annual growth range of 0-3% for 2018," said Russell Galley,

Managing Director at Halifax Community Bank.

     A mixture of affordability constraints, a lack of stock, economic

uncertainty and interest rate rises have continued to hold back activity in the

housing market according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS)

monthly report showed.

     The Halifax data mirrored data released by the Nationwide earlier in the

week, which showed annual house price growth at its lowest since May 2013 at

1.6%. 

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3828; email: jai.lakhani@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203-586-2226; email: jamie.satchithanantham@marketnews.com

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