Cost of average UK Homes grew by just 14% this month, the figures show.
Data from property website rightmove show monthly lowest increase average home price since record Started in 2001.
The average house price in the UK is £362,452, up 3.9 per cent on the previous year.
Prices of newly listed homes remained flat between January and February, while interest from buyers was up 11 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, which was before the pandemic, the data showed.
The average house price in the UK is £362,452
(PA Archive)
There were also 24 percent fewer homes for sale than in 2019, but more options than a year ago.
According to Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister, the figures are said to show a period of “greater realism” on house prices.
The company also said that higher mortgage rates and the cost of living are affecting what people can afford.
Bannister said: “Market conditions are demanding greater realism on price and we are transitioning to a slower moving market where it will take longer for buyers to find the right property at the right price due to the higher cost of mortgages “.
UK house prices fell for five months in a row until January, according to Building Society Nationwide, and this year is expected to see the biggest drop in house prices since the financial crisis.
Annual house price growth slowed to 1.1% this month compared to 2.8% in December.
Rightmove said home sales are down 11% from 2019 levels and have been down 30% post-mini-budget.
However, Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at estate agent Knight Frank, said the housing market had rebounded since Christmas.
“Buyers and sellers closed early for the holidays due to the volatility of mini-budgets, but came back surprisingly strongly in 2023,” he said.
Inflation – the rate at which prices rise – is near a 40-year high, putting pressure on household budgets.
The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts prices will fall by 9% by autumn 2024 before prices start to rise again.