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Investing.com -- The housing market in the UK experienced a slowdown in February as potential buyers rushed to make purchases before the end of tax incentives on March 31, according to mortgage lender Halifax.
In an unexpected turn, house prices fell by 0.1% last month, following a revised growth of 0.6% in January. These figures fell short of all predictions in a poll of economists. Both the monthly and annual data for January were revised slightly lower.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, highlighted the fragile equilibrium within the UK housing market.
She noted that while there was speculation about a last-minute rush on new mortgages before the changes to stamp duty, it was inevitable that some of the demand that was previously brought forward would start to wane as the April deadline approached, given the time required to finalize a purchase.
In terms of annual figures, prices were 2.9% higher, maintaining the same rate as in January. This was slightly below economists’ forecast of a 3.1% increase.
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