UK property prices edge down slightly in May

The average price of a home in the UK now is 286,532. prices edged down slightly compared to a month ago, according to data released by the government. A buoyant market a year ago was a major reason for the year-on-year fall, the report said.

The Nationalwide, which monitors the housing market, reported a further drop in house prices, according to its data. A week ago, the National Association of Realtors said property values were down in the year to May by 3.4%, the biggest decline for 14 years.

The rising cost of living is likely to be reducing people's ability to save, such as putting money aside for a deposit. UK Finance, the trade body for banks, said the amount saved in Instant Access savings accounts fell in the first three months of the year - the first drop for 15 years.

Banks based their house price predictions on their own mortgage data. Although that can vary, both Halifax and the Nationwide are showing a stagnating market with the prospect of further property price falls.

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New data from UK Finance shows that people are increasingly taking out mortgages over longer terms, with a record one in five first-time buyers opting for mortgages of more than 35 years.

The OECD suggests that Germany will be the only developed economy to perform better than Britain in 2023. The think tank forecasts that the UK's growth will rise by just 0.3% this year before improving moderately to 1% in 2024.