Halifax says U.K. home prices have peaked

The bank and mortgage provider Halifax says the U.K. real estate boom is going to be over, according to a Friday report from the bank and mortgage provider.

The report said that home prices fell by 0.1% between August and September, and the annual pace of gains fell to 9.9%, a return to single-digit gains for the first time since January.

A typical home in the U.K. now costs 293,835 US $326,366 The events of the last few weeks have led to greater economic uncertainty, said Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, in a report. The new government announced a move to cut taxes for the highest earners before reversing the plan after global markets crashed, and the pound's value plummeted.

Since June, house prices have been largely flat, up by around 250. The housing market may have already entered a more sustained period of slower growth, according to Ms. Kinnaird, which was compared to a rise of more than 10,000 during the previous quarter.

Four U.K. nations and regions have seen annual house price inflation fall to single digit levels: Eastern England, Greater London, North East and Scotland.

The report said that home-price growth slowed in all but one region — the North East — from August to September.

Tom Bill, head of Knight Frank Residential Research, said in a statement about Halifax's findings, it is a fairly safe bet that U.K. house prices have now peaked. Demand and spending power will fall by 10% over the next two years due to rising mortgage rates, as we believe it will cause a fall in U.K. prices to fall 10% over the next two years.