U.K. House Prices Stagnated as Virus Took Hold, Halifax Says

(Bloomberg) --

U.K. house prices stagnated in March as the outbreak of the coronavirus brought the market to a standstill.

Average house prices were unchanged from February at 240,384 pounds ($300,000), Halifax said Tuesday. From a year earlier, prices gained 3%.

Home values were picking up at the start of the year after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s election victory reduced some of the uncertainty from Brexit. But in the past month, the virus pandemic has brought the U.K. economy to its knees, and the government has advised that housing transactions be delayed until it passes.

“Most market activity has been paused,” said Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax. “With viewings canceled and movers being encouraged to put transactions on hold, activity will inevitably fall sharply in the coming months.”

The lack of transactions may make gathering information more difficult as well, Galley said. Still, it’s too early to make a long-term assessment of the market.

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