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British house prices ended six months of consecutive falls in October, reflecting a lack of homes being put up for sale, but prices are still lower than a year ago, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday.
Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said house prices in October were 1.1% higher than the month before, the first increase since March on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.3% monthly drop in September.
"Prospective sellers appear to be taking a cautious attitude, leading to a low supply of homes for sale. This is likely to have strengthened prices in the short-term, rather than prices being driven by buyer demand, which remains weak overall," Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said.
Compared with a year earlier, house prices in October were 3.2% lower versus a 4.5% annual decline in September, leaving the average house price at 281,974 pounds ($347,279), nearly 10,000 pounds lower than a year earlier.
The Bank of England kept interest rates at a 15-year high of 5.25% last week and said it was too soon to consider cutting them as consumer price inflation remained far above its 2% target.
Halifax said it expected further falls in house prices, and a return to growth in 2025.
"While many people will have seen their income grow through wage rises, higher interest rates and wider affordability pressures continue to be challenges for buyers," Kinnaird said.
($1 = 0.8120 pounds) (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Sarah Young and Kate Holton)