House prices ‘to remain stable in 2013’
It reported an average house price of £163,845, with the figure when measured on a quarterly basis up for the first time in seven months amid signs of a firming in housing market towards the end of 2012. There were six monthly rises and six decreases during 2012 as underlying prices remained little changed over the course of last year, the bank added.
Halifax economist Martin Ellis said: “We expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally in 2013 with prices likely to end the year at levels close to where they begin.”
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Hide AdPrices in the quarter to December were 0.3 per cent lower than in the last quarter of 2011, the smallest annual decline since May.
The jump in prices comes amid signs that the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending scheme is having a positive impact on the availability of mortgages. Approvals for lending to home-buyers climbed to a ten-month high in November.