Following three successive monthly falls, prices swelled by 1.3 per cent in December, taking prices in Quarter 4 to a level that was just marginally lower than in Quarter 3 (0.8 per cent).
Despite all the talk of house price decline towards the end of 2007, Halifax saw house prices in December reach levels that were 5.2 per cent higher than 2006, with the average price of a home in the UK increasing by £11,759 over the year to £197,039.
However this is still relatively conservative growth as 2007 was only the second year since 2001 when prices have risen by less than the long-term average of 8 per cent.
The index supported a cooling of the market, with the mixed pattern of monthly price rises and falls recorded by the lender characteristic of a subdued housing market.
Halifax advised that house prices must be taken in context, predicting a 'flat' 2008.
The lender also plumped for two further rate cuts over the course of the year, indicating there could even be room for one more.
