UK house price growth halved as Iran war fallout hits housing market

UK house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April, as mortgage lender Halifax halved its annual growth forecast to 0.4% [1]. The lender cited heightened economic uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict [1]. The cost of a typical UK home fell by 0.1% in April to £299,313, following a 0.5% drop in March [1]. This reduced the annual rate of house price growth to 0.4%, down from 0.8% [1]. Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, stated that higher energy prices from the conflict have fed into inflation expectations, prompting markets to reassess the path for interest rates [1]. "This understandably leads to more caution among some households," Bryden said [1]. The shift has already pushed up borrowing costs; the average two-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 5.77% in April, up from 4.83% at the start of March [1]. Halifax had forecast 1.2% annual growth in February, following a strong start to the year where prices rose 0.8% in January and 0.3% in February [1]. Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, noted a disconnect, saying, "many sellers are still pricing based on expectation rather than current market reality" [1]. The economic turbulence contrasts with data from Nationwide, which reported a 3% annual price increase in April using a different measurement method [1]. Nationwide recorded a 0.4% monthly rise in April, while Halifax reported a decline [1].