House prices were anything but steady in the month of April according to Halifax.  The month following the end of the stamp duty holiday expiration was going to be one of a lot of attention.  Would the month following the March 24^th end of the stamp duty holiday reveal a new confidence in the housing market or would it show a steep decline as first time buyers pulled away again?

The latest Halifax figures show the average price dropped by 2.4 per cent to £159,883.  This negates the increase of 2.2 per cent that occurred in March and leaves the average for the last three months at 0.3 per cent higher.  This increase in the three month average indicator is the first of six consecutive declines since September.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "Despite the slight improvement in the underlying trend in recent months, house prices continue to lack real direction, with the current UK average price little different to where it was at the end of 2011."

The average house price for the last three months to April was 0.5 per cent lower than the same period last year.  The average for April was only slightly under the £159,888 recorded in December 2010.

The decline in the average house price confirms that the boost to the average house price in March was very likely due to the ending stamp duty holiday.  The rush of first time buyers to take advantage of the savings were those keen to get their mortgage completed before the deadline.  After the savings opportunity ended first time buyers again slipped away from the market as those that wanted to buy had already done so.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said, “Housing market activity is very low compared to long-term norms. And the economic fundamentals currently look worrying overall for the housing market with unemployment high and likely to rise further, earnings growth muted, and the outlook uncertain.”

Mr. Archer expects that house prices will fall a further 3.0 per cent by the end of the year.