LONDON: British house prices fell in October at the fastest monthly rate since February 2021, a fresh sign of weakness in the housing market that reflects the fallout from the September “mini-budget”, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday.

House prices dropped 0.4% month-on-month last month, after a 0.1% fall in September, Halifax said. It said the slowdown was in part a consequence of the Sept. 23 economic agenda of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, known as the mini-budget, which sent British financial markets into a free-fall.

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“While a post-pandemic slowdown was expected, there’s no doubt the housing market received a significant shock as a result of the mini-budget which saw a sudden acceleration in mortgage rate increases,” said Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages.

In annual terms, house prices were 8.3% higher in October, slowing from 9.8% in September.