The UK’s average house price jumped by 1.1% in October, following a fall of 0.3% in September, the latest Halifax House Price Index has revealed.

A typical UK home now costs £281,974 as a result of the latest price movement, a figure up by around £3,000 on the previous month, after October broke a run of six consecutive monthly falls.

Halifax also reported that the annual rate of house price growth improved to -3.2% in the year to October, with the price decline hitting a slower pace than the -4.5% in the 12 months to September.

Director at Halifax Mortgages, Kim Kinnaird, suggested that prospective sellers are taking a “cautious attitude”, which has led 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,” Kinnaird said.

Despite reporting weakness in overall buyer demand, Halifax also stated that the first-time buyer market has “held up relatively well”.

The latest house price data shows prices for first-time buyers are down -2.4% annually, a notably smaller fall than the market generally (-3.2%), over the past year.

“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 added. “Across the medium-term, with financial markets not anticipating a decline in the Bank of England’s base rate soon, we expect house prices to fall further overall – with a return to growth from 2025.

“The current picture should continue to be seen in the context of the longer-term house price trend as, on average, prices remain around £40,000 above pre-pandemic levels.”

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