UK house price growth lowest for 5 years, says Halifax - BBC News
The average price of a home has fallen by more than £2,000 since November, according to the Halifax.
The rate of house price growth in the UK slumped to just 1.8% in the year to February, according to the country's largest lender, the Halifax.

That is the lowest rate of increase since March 2013.

The Halifax said that the average price of a home has fallen from £226,408 in November, to £224,353 last month. That is a fall of £2,055.

However, prices actually rose by 0.4% in February, following two months in which values declined.

The Halifax said it expected price growth to remain low in the months ahead.

Nevertheless it said low mortgage rates and flourishing job prospects would continue to support prices.

"The labour market continues to perform strongly, with the number of people in employment rising by 88,000 in the three months to December," said Russell Galley, managing director of the Halifax.

"While we expect price growth to remain low, the low mortgage rate environment, combined with an ongoing shortage of properties for sale, should continue to support house prices over the coming months."

BBC Business has set up a new UK Facebook group all about affordable living.

From tuition fees, paying off student loans, finding a job, and travelling to work to renting and saving for your first home - it is a space to share your experiences.

Some experts said it was good news that price rises were moderating, making it easier for first-time buyers to enter the market.

However Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item club, said it was further evidence that 2018 was going to be a difficult year for the housing market.

"Activity is expected to remain lacklustre as the extended squeeze on consumer purchasing power only gradually eases, confidence is fragile and appreciable caution persists over engaging in major transactions," he said.

"Potential house buyers also look highly likely to face further interest rate hikes in 2018."

Where can you afford to live? Try our housing calculator to see where you could rent or buy This interactive content requires an internet connection and a modern browser. Do you want to buy or rent? Use the buttons to increase or decrease the number of bedrooms: minimum one, maximum four. Alternatively, enter a number into the text input How much is your deposit? Enter your deposit below or adjust the deposit amount using the slider Return to 'How much is your deposit?' This calculator assumes you need a deposit of at least 5% of the value of the property to get a mortgage. The average deposit for UK first-time buyers is . How much can you pay monthly? Enter your monthly payment below or adjust the payment amount using the slider Return to 'How much can you pay monthly?' Your monthly payments are what you can afford to pay each month. Think about your monthly income and take off bills, council tax and living expenses. The average rent figure is for England and Wales. Amount of the that has housing you can Explore the map in detail below Search the UK for more details about a local area What does affordable mean? You have a big enough deposit and your monthly payments are high enough. The prices are based on the local market. If there are 100 properties of the right size in an area and they are placed in price order with the cheapest first, the “low-end” of the market will be the 25th property, "mid-priced" is the 50th and "high-end” will be the 75th.