House prices fall on snow and stamp duty

UK house prices fell for the first time since June 2009 due to the end of stamp duty relief, icy weather and more properties being put up for sale, according to Halifax.

Prices dropped by 1.5% in February compared with the previous month to leave the average house price at £166,587.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, says the increase in the number of properties available for sale helped to reduce slightly the imbalance between supply and demand, which led to a fall in house prices.

"At the same time, the bad weather in the first two months of 2010, together with the return of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £125,000, are likely to have had an adverse impact on housing demand.

"The combination of these factors appears to have helped to curb the upward pressure on house prices."

However, prices were still 4.5% higher than a year earlier and 8% higher than the trough in the market in April 2009.