Economics

UK House Prices Fall for First Time in a Year as Crisis Bites

  • Buyers feeling the effects of inflation, higher mortgage costs
  • Strain set to worsen as BOE steps up fight on rising prices

Residential properties stand in Guildford, UK.

Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
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UK house prices declined for the first time in a year in July as rising interest rates and soaring inflation finally took a toll, with the slowdown forecast to deepen in coming months.

Prices fell 0.1%, the first drop since June 2021, leaving the average cost of a home at £293,221 ($356,100), Halifax said Friday. Values were still 11.8% higher than a year earlier, but the pace of increase is fading.