House prices up 1.1% in March, latest Halifax survey shows

House prices increased by 1.1% in March, partly reversing the 1.6% fall recorded the previous month, according to the latest house price index from mortgage lender Halifax.
This means that the value of the average home in England and Wales is now 5.2% higher than it was in March 2009 - pushing the sale price of a typical property up to £168,521.
On a quarterly basis, prices in the first three months of 2010 were also 0.6% higher than in the final quarter of 2009.
However, this increase is small relative to the 3.6% rise between the third and fourth quarters of 2009.
House prices in England and Wales bottomed out in April 2009 after plunging some 23% since August 2007.
Since then they have been rising slowly, with eight of the nine previous months showing an increase, and a typical home now worth 9.1%, or £14,031, more than it was a year ago.
There was, however, a blip in February, when the average value of a property dipped by 1.6%.
Martin Ellis, Halifax's housing economist, said: "The return of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £125,000 affected housing demand at the end of 2009 and in early 2010, while the bad weather in the first two months of this year also had an impact."
One of the main factors driving prices steadily higher over the last 12 months is an increase in the level of activity in the housing market.
Property sales in England and Wales have risen during the last three consecutive quarters after reaching a low in the first three months of 2009.
And sales in the second half of 2009 were one third higher than in the last six months of 2008, despite remaining at only around half the level seen in the second half of 2007 when the market was still riding high.
The latest quarterly increase of just 0.6%, versus a 3.6% rise between the third and fourth quarters of 2009, does however suggest a slowdown in the trend rate of house price growth.
Ellis said: "There are signs that an increase in the number of properties available for sale is beginning to reduce the imbalance between supply and demand, which should help to contain the upward pressure on house prices."
This is not necessarily bad news, though, as lower valuations will continue to help more first-time buyers - who are also currently benefiting from a stamp duty exemption on properties worth up to £250,000 - to get a foot on the ladder.