House prices defied expectations to rise for the 11th month in a row in May, although the pace of growth is slowing and “we may be past the peak sellers’ market”, according to the latest Halifax house price index.
Prices rose a further 1 per cent in May, extending the record high average cost of a house to £289,099.
Compared with a year earlier, prices have risen by 10.5 per cent — although May marked the third month in a row that the annual pace of house price increases in Britain has slowed.
Halifax said the annual growth rate in May was the smallest since the start of the year. “Despite the very real cost of living pressures some are experiencing, the imbalance between supply
