India, March 7 -- UK house prices fell unexpectedly in February as demand started to soften with the stamp duty holiday to end on March 31, mortgage lender Halifax said Friday.
House prices registered a monthly fall of 0.1 percent in February, reversing January's 0.6 percent increase. Prices were forecast to grow 0.5 percent.
Year-on-year, house prices advanced 2.9 percent, the same pace of growth as seen in January. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 3.1 percent.
"While there's been talk of a last minute rush on new mortgages ahead of the changes to stamp duty, inevitably we've seen some of the demand that was brought forward start to fade as the April deadline ticks closer, given the time needed to complete a purchase," Halifa...