LONDON, April 2 - House prices in Britain rose 1.1 percent in March from February, the Halifax bank said on Wednesday. Halifax, the country's largest mortgage lender, said prices were up 23.4 percent in the three months to March compared to a year earlier. This compared to a monthly rise of 1.7 percent and an annual rise of 23 percent reported the previous month. A house price boom in Britain which many economists believe has helped support the economy has shown signs of slowing in recent weeks with an increasing number of property price surveys showing a slowdown in the pace of growth.
The Halifax said it had seen an increase in the number of properties coming onto the market and this was keeping a lid on prices. "The historically low stock of properties available for sale over the last few years has been contributing to the rapid rise in prices," said Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist. "Prices rose by 4.4 percent in the first three months of 2003. Whilst this is equivalent to a still strong annualised rate of 19 percent, it is slower than the pace of house price growth recorded in 2002 when prices rose by 26 percent."
Ellis said the factors that had boosted house prices in recent years -- high employment, low interest rates and good affordability -- remained in place. A report published last week by property website Hometrack.co.uk said prices were unchanged in March from February after more than doubling in recent years.//