That pushed prices 3.8% lower than a year ago and means that the price of the average home fell to £184,111.
The Bank of England said on Thursday it was leaving interest rates unchanged at 5%, despite calls from various industry sectors for a cut.
The Halifax said the annual fall in prices was the biggest it had seen since 1993 so if prices continue to fall at the rate seen at the start of the year then they will fall by 16% over the course of 2008.
The Halifax’s survey results are similar to the latest study from the Nationwide building society, which reported a 2.5% fall in house prices during May.
Figures from the Bank of England this week also showed the number of new mortgages being approved for house purchases in April hit the lowest level since the Bank began reporting the figures in 1993.
The Halifax has already predicted that house prices will probably fall next year as well.
Over past weeks there has been increasing evidence that the UK economy is heading for a longer and sharper economic slowdown than many people first thought.
On Wednesday, the international think tank the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the UK faced a significant downturn, forecasting that UK growth would slow to 1.8% this year, and to 1.4% in 2009.
It added that three factors were hurting the UK and global economy; weakening property markets, a global credit crisis and high commodity costs.
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