HOUSE prices fell in March for the first time in six months, according to Halifax.
The lender said they slipped by one per cent compared to the previous month, and a typical home now costs £288,430.
Prices are still 0.3 per cent higher than a year ago, however.
The drop comes after mortgage rates started to creep back up again as banks and building societies adjusted to more cautious expectations of interest rate cuts.
At the start of the year, financial markets had been betting the Bank of England would cut rates as soon as May.
But that has now been pushed back to June — or even August — after the Bank kept the base rate at 5.25 per cent.
Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said: “Markets are less optimistic about base rate cuts.
“This has stalled the decline in mortgage rates that drove market activity earlier in the year.”
Jonathan Hopper, boss of Garrington Property Finders, said: “In some areas the number of homes coming on to the market is four times higher than the number of new buyers registering with estate agents — and this surge in supply is also holding back prices.”
While house prices have dipped they are still around 20 per cent higher than before the pandemic and mortgage rates almost double where they were in 2021.
WFH sideline
STAFF operating entirely from home are 11 per cent less likely to be be promoted than those working from the office, research indicates.
And those doing two or three days in the office are seven per cent less likely to step up the ladder, according to a survey of 1,000 managers by the University of Warsaw.
Body save bid
THE Body Shop may be saved in a restructuring plan that puts it back in private equity hands.
The beauty retailer collapsed four months after Aurelius bought it.
Now administrators have put forward a plan to creditors which would reduce rents but keep the remaining 115 stores open.
Good Week
Bad Week
CASH-strapped defence chiefs have splashed out more than £1billion of taxpayer funds on external consultants since 2010, figures reveal.
And more than £1.5billion was also splurged by the Ministry of Defence on temporary staff in five years.
Cash for consultants shot up fivefold from the £26million that was spent in 2010.
Meanwhile, spending on temporary staff surged by 53 per cent between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, Labour analysis found.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey blasted the Tories for the “ever-increasing” amounts while “continuing to hollow out our Armed Forces”.
He added: “Since 2010, successive Conservative governments have wasted at least £15billion of taxpayers’ money, have failed to deliver major defence projects and ministers are still cutting the British Army to the smallest size since Napoleon.
“Labour will conduct an across-the-board audit of MoD waste to ensure value for taxpayers’ money.”
The Tories have pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent despite pressure for more.
NHS consultants are being urged to accept a new pay offer to end strikes.
Under the latest deal, consultants’ pay would start at £99,000 rather than £94,000 and top out at £132,000 rather than £126,000.
They rejected a previous offer in a vote split 51 to 49 per cent.
The new deal includes a rise from £105,000 offered in the previous one to £108,000 a year for those in the fourth to seventh years of consultant work.
It also further loosens the Government’s grip on the yearly salary review.
The British Medical Association and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association recommend their members accept it.
Dr Vishal Sharma, of the BMA, said: “We now feel we’ve made enough progress in our talks with the Government.
“We recommend members vote to accept the offer and end the current pay dispute and prevent industrial action.”
Consultants went on strike four times and for a total of ten days last year.
BMA junior doctors are still on the warpath as they are midway through a vote to continue striking for another six months.
HOUSE prices are more expensive than they were a year ago, the first time annual growth has been recorded in over a year.
Figures from Nationwide showed they were 0.7 per cent higher this February than the same month in 2023.
The average house price in the UK is now £260,420.
A year-on-year increase had not been recorded since last January as mortgages rocketed on the back of 14 interest rate rises by the Bank of England.
The annual growth in property prices gives fresh confidence that the housing market is now stabilising.
And it comes after official figures this week highlighted an uptick in mortgage approvals.
READ MORE ON HOUSE PRICES
Last year, buyers struggled to afford a mortgage as lenders raised interest costs on home loans.
The slowdown in the housing market has also meant more people have been trapped renting, which has driven rents to record high levels.
Meanwhile, the UK’s biggest property listings website Rightmove yesterday reported an eight per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £260million.
The increase was partly because estate agents were paying more to advertise properties and achieve sales in the slump.
M&S law win
MARKS & SPENCER has won its battle against Michael Gove’s attempt to block plans to demolish and redevelop its Marble Arch store in central London.
The minister last year refused permission on heritage and environmental grounds but the High Court has overturned his decision.
Asda pay rise
ASDA is spending £150million to be the best paying supermarket.
The grocer said it will raise salaries for 120,000 staff to £12.04 an hour — £13.21 inside the M25.
Co-owner Mohsin Issa said the firm was still in “a transition period”. He denied a rift with brother Zuber, who may sell his stake.
Good week
ANDREW Nisbet who will make at least £339million from selling his kitchen supply firm, Nisbets, to firm Bunzl.
Bad week
HALFORDS boss Graham Stapleton as shares fell by a quarter after warning of a bike part sales slump.
HOSPITALS hope to lure back recently retired consultants to help clear waiting list backlogs.
The NHS today launches a one-year trial of an online system — allowing some to do outpatient appointments via video calls from home.
This will free staff for other tasks and allow targeted help to hospitals most in need.
Returnees could also help to train more junior doctors.
NHS elective care director Stella Vig said: “Many want to be able to keep giving back to the health service once they have retired, but in a more flexible way.”
Returnees will face standard hiring processes.
Health Minister Andrew Stephenson said: “Returning consultants will bring invaluable experience and knowledge.”
Latest figures show nearly 6.4million people in England were awaiting treatment in November.
If the NHS Emeritus trial succeeds it could be rolled out to more areas of medicine and kept beyond the one-year trial period.
Bosses estimate 1,000 consultants retire every year meaning there could be thousands who still have the licence and registration to allow them to work again.
All returning doctors would have to go through standard hiring processes before working.
Dr Sarah Clarke, president of the Royal College of Physicians, added: “The NHS is facing unprecedented demands so paving a way for our recently retired doctors to contribute their skills again is very welcome.
“Almost 60% of physicians would delay retirement if they could work flexibly or reduce their hours, showing that flexible working would greatly improve staff retention.”