Property prices in the UK have fallen slightly in the last month with London seeing the biggest loss, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.
Over the last year prices have gone up in the UK by 4.4%, according to the ONS’s House Price Index for February. In January the annual rise was 4.7%.
This coupled with the 0.1% drop from January to February 2018 is providing further evidence of a market slowdown, which will come as good news to first-time buyers.
Scotland recorded the biggest growth in house prices, with values going up by 6.2%. Wales and Northern Ireland saw prices rise by 4.8% and 4.3% respectively and in England the hike was 4.1% over the year.
London showed the greatest drop, with prices falling by 0.1% over the year. Meanwhile in the West Midlands prices soared by 7.3%.
Lucy Pendleton, founder director of estate agents James Pendleton, said: “Everywhere but London is growing in real terms ahead of inflation but beware, that’s only because the playing field wasn’t level to begin with.
“The explanation partly lies in the fact that the rest of the country is still getting a shot in the arm that London struggles to benefit from.
“That medicine, masking any true underlying trends, comes in the form of the Help to Buy scheme that imposes a price cap – £600,000 – that feels relatively low across most of the capital.”
Meanwhile, Ishaan Malhi, CEO and founder of online mortgage broker, Trussle, said while the house price slowdown was offering relief to those buying their first home, they should keep in mind the possibility of interest rate rises.
He added: “This will impact how much money a new buyer can borrower and could also increase the cost of their monthly mortgage repayments.
“With this in mind, any hopeful first-time buyers should look to lock in a fixed-rate mortgage deal as soon as possible.”
