House prices stalled in January  

A typical UK property now costs £281,684 (compared to £281,713 last month), following falls in November and December.

The slowdown in annual house price inflation is reflected in most nations and regions across the UK.

The South West of England has also seen annual house price growth slow considerably, now at 2.7% (vs 6.0% in December) with an average house price of £298,853 (dipping below £300,000 for the first time since March last year).

London, which for some time has lagged many other areas of the UK in terms of house price growth, saw the cost of buying an average home fall from £541,472 to £530,396 in January, with annual house price inflation flat (0.0%) compared to 2.9% in December.

Wales saw its rate of growth fall to 2.0%, down from 6.0% in December with an average house price of £210,275, down from a peak of £224,210 in August.

Those buying a home in Northern Ireland will now pay an average of £183,935 seeing a growth rate of 6.9%, compared to 7.1% in December, while in Scotland average properties now cost £197,784, a growth rate of 2.4% vs 3.3% in December.

The price of a typical London home is still around a quarter of a million pounds above the UK national average.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “Given the strong economic headwinds that battered the UK following last September’s mini budget, it’s quite remarkable that the property market has remained largely impervious to any notable decline in house prices.

With that storm now weathered and confidence returning to the market, the previous monthly house prices declines seen at the back end of last year have already amounted to little more than a seasonal cough and cold.”