Homing in on slowdown

House price growth slowed to a four-year low last month.

The average home was still worth 3.3% more than a year ago, according to the Halifax.

But the rate of growth is down sharply from the 10% surge in March last year.

Meanwhile, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed that the number of would-be buyers, properties coming on the market and home sales all fell last month.

Samuel Tombs, at Pantheon Macroeconomics, predicted the house price slowdown had bottomed out.

According to the Halifax, house prices rose 0.4% between April and May to reach £220,706 on average across the UK.