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| Further decline in house prices | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| UK house prices registered a 1.3% fall in September, according to the Halifax. | UK house prices registered a 1.3% fall in September, according to the Halifax. |
| The lender said the drop meant the annual fall now stood at 12.4%, with the cost of the average home in the UK now at £172,108. | The lender said the drop meant the annual fall now stood at 12.4%, with the cost of the average home in the UK now at £172,108. |
| It joined the Nationwide in claiming that the rate of decline was starting to stabilise when looking at three-month comparison figures. | It joined the Nationwide in claiming that the rate of decline was starting to stabilise when looking at three-month comparison figures. |
| But it said the state of the market would remain "challenging" as mortgage availability was still tight. | But it said the state of the market would remain "challenging" as mortgage availability was still tight. |
| The annual rate is calculated using a comparison of the past three months compared with the same three months a year ago, aiming to cut out any short-term volatility. | The annual rate is calculated using a comparison of the past three months compared with the same three months a year ago, aiming to cut out any short-term volatility. |
| When comparing prices in just September with the same month the previous year, the drop in prices reaches 13.3%, the biggest recorded by the Halifax. | |
| This was the eighth consecutive month that prices fell compared with the previous month. | This was the eighth consecutive month that prices fell compared with the previous month. |
| Rate cut | |
| The average price of a UK home is close to that seen in January 2006. | |
| "The ongoing pressures on householders' income, combined with the reduction in the availability of mortgage finance mean that market conditions will remain challenging," said Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax. | |
| But he welcomed the move by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 4.5% on Wednesday. | |
| "Lower interest rates will help mortgage borrowers faced with increasing pressures on their finances and provide a valuable support to the housing market," Mr Ellis said. |