House price fall continues after rush to beat stamp duty changes

UK house prices have suffered their steepest decline in a year as the market cools after a buyer rush to beat stamp duty changes in England and Northern Ireland.

- Mark Sweney

The average price of a property fell by 0.5% last month to £296,699, the steepest decline in value since March last year, according to Halifax.

It is the second consecutive month in which house prices have fallen, as Britain's biggest mortgage lender revised February's decline from 0.1% to 0.2%.

The two months of falling house prices followed a record high in January as buyers rushed to complete deals before stamp duty increases that came into force this month.

"House prices rose in January as buyers rushed to beat the March stamp duty deadline," said Amanda Bryden, the head of mortgages at Halifax. "However, with those deals now completing, demand is returning to normal and new applications slowing."

In the budget in October, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced the end of temporary stamp duty cuts in England and Northern Ireland from April. Scotland and Wales set different taxes on house purchases.