House prices stable says Halifax

The UK housing market is still in the doldrums, figures from the Halifax show.

Its latest monthly survey shows that prices fell by 0.6% in July compared with June, to leave the average house price across the country at £161,094.

This means that average prices are also 0.6% lower than a year ago.

The Halifax predicted that there would be little change in the remainder of this year, unless the recession becomes worse.

Martin Ellis, housing economist for the Halifax, said: "The underlying trend in house prices was flat in the three months to July compared with the previous three months."

"At a national level, house prices have been very stable over the past year or so.

"This can largely be explained by the static nature of supply and demand conditions during this period," he added.