UK house prices were back on an upward path today after figures from the Halifax showed the average cost of a home increased by 1.1 per cent during December.
Despite the gain, which followed falls in October and November, the banking group said the overall picture was still one of a cooling in the market.
Prices were only 0.1 per cent higher in the final quarter of the year as the Halifax stuck by its forecast for a drop of 2 per cent in 2005. It said prices increased by 15.1 per cent in 2004, but by only 2.8 per cent in the second half.
The annual rise compares with growth of 15.4 per cent in 2003 and 26.4 per cent in 2002.
"Sound housing market fundamentals will continue to underpin the market in 2005, ensuring that the market remains healthy and that house prices fall only slightly," Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis.
The Halifax said prices continued to rise in the north of England with fourth-quarter gains of 3 per cent in the North West, 1.2 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber and 0.7 per cent in the North region.
All other areas saw a fall in prices, with the biggest quarterly declines being 6.2 per cent in Wales and 1.6 per cent in the South East. Prices in London fell by 0.5 per cent.
The continued rally in the northern property market means the difference between the average price in the South and the equivalent in the North has fallen by £15,000 from a record £99,000 in early 2003.
The Halifax added that Scotland was now the only region of the UK where the average price remained below £100,000 - at £99,056. London is the most expensive region with an average price of £241,670.
PA