UK housing prices dip but there are signs of optimism: Halifax

London

UK house prices fell in June as Brexit uncertainty leaves the market in limbo, though there are some signs of optimism.

Prices dipped 0.3 per cent to an average £237,110 (S$404,000) from a month earlier, mortgage lender Halifax said. Economists predicted a fall of 0.4 per cent. From a year ago, values increased 5.7per cent in the three months through June, against a backdrop of low growth in the same period of last year.

Demand for housing stabilised in May, with agreed sales falling for a 10th consecutive month, but less steeply. Sentiment on the longer-term outlook for sales and prices showed a modest recovery, the report said.

The property market has been suffering from political turmoil over the UK's departure from the European Union, but a shortage of homes, record employment and low borrowing costs are all putting a floor under values. BLOOMBERG