Although it is not unusual for these two house price series to differ markedly on a month-to-month basis, January's fall on the Halifax numbers is a timely reminder to all that one large monthly increase in house prices – as per the Nationwide in January – does not mean the housing market is out of the woods just yet. |
Although this is hardly the end of the world, it is likely to dampen some of the renewed optimism about the outlook for the UK housing market that followed the strong Nationwide figures for January. |