House price growth in the UK slowed in May to 2.5% year-on-year, after rising by 3.2% in April, Halifax has revealed.

The bank’s latest house price index found that the average UK property price stood at £296,648 last month.

This is a 0.4% drop month-on-month, with the average house price falling by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter.

Head of mortgages at Halifax, Amanda Bryden, said that while there was a slight drop in month-on-month prices, these movements indicate a "housing market that has remained largely stable".

She added: "The market appears to have absorbed the temporary surge in activity over spring, which was driven by the changes to stamp duty.

"Affordability remains a challenge, with house prices still high relative to incomes. However, lower mortgage rates and steady wage growth have helped support buyer confidence."

Halifax also found that Northern Ireland was once again the best performing nation in the UK, as house price prices rose by 8.6% year-on-year to £209,388.

Wales (£230,405) and Scotland (£214,864) also saw respective annual house price increases of 4.8%.

In England, the North West (£240,823) and Yorkshire and the Humber (£213,983) were the best performing regions, with house prices jumping by 3.7% respectively.

London saw more "subdued" house price growth in this period, as prices increased by 1.2% to an average of £542,017.

Chief executive officer at Propertymark, Nathan Emerson, concluded: "This slight dip in house prices will likely have been influenced as a direct consequence to the current state of the global economy. There will always be a need for people to move house regardless of international trading relations; however, many aspiring or current homeowners will no doubt be discouraged until they feel confident in their long-term affordability.

"It would be very welcome news for consumers if lenders do feel confident enough to offer additional competitive mortgage products across the summer months, but much will depend on the rate of inflation across the coming months."

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