House prices continued to rise for first-time buyers when compared to house movers.
House prices rose at an annual rate of 1.5% during Q3 which is the lowest level since 2013, the Halifax House Price Index has revealed.
Prices continued to rise for first-time buyers when compared to house movers.
For first-time buyers, inflation picked up to a five-quarter high of 2.3%.
Paul Smith, economics director at IHS Markit, said: “The UK housing market remained fragile during the third quarter of the year and is on course to record its worst performance since 2012.
“Despite the low mortgage rate environment and rising earnings growth helping to ease affordability constraints, UK-wide house price inflation sank to a six-and-a-half year low.
“Given the close relationship with wider macroeconomic trends in recent years, we suspect that political and economic uncertainty associated with Brexit continues to weigh on the market.
“This is especially the case in the south of England, where prices are falling and, in the case of London, at the fastest rate since the height of the financial crisis.”
House prices dropped in Greater London (-1.7%), the South East (-1.3%) and Eastern England (-0.5%) during Q3.
The decline seen in London was the sharpest since 2009, whilst prices in the South East have now fallen on an annual basis for three quarters in a row.
Wales continued to performed strongly over the quarter, registering price inflation of above 6% for the third successive quarter.
Scotland also enjoyed robust inflation of 4.3%, whilst prices in the North West increased by 4.2%.
Despite falling house prices across the south of England, the cost of property here remains comfortably the highest in the UK.
This is especially the case in London, where prices remain above £480,000, and nearly £160,000 higher than in the South East (£323,055).
The respective house price to earnings ratio is currently at its lowest level since late 2015.
