House prices in the UK rose by 1.8 per cent in October compared with the previous month, said the Halifax.
The lender, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, said that the less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed property values dropped by 1.2 per cent.
The average cost of a home increased 1.8 percent to £164,919 from September, when it declined 3.7 percent, said Halifax. The bank said property values were unchanged from October 2009.
The lender’s September (2010) report revealed a 3.7 per cent fall - the biggest on record. Taking into account October’s rise, this means house prices were down 1.2 per cent in the three months to October.
Halifax said this measure gives a better indication of the underlying trend than the monthly changes, which can be more erratic.
Earlier this week Nationwide reported a 0.7 per cent fall for October, based on its own mortgage approvals. This took the Nationwide's measure of the quarterly decline to 1.5 per cent, the biggest since April last year.
Monthly changes in prices had been a mixed picture, the lender said, but it is not predicting a sustained fall.
"An increase in the number of properties available for sale in recent months, together with a decline in demand, has put some downward pressure on prices in recent months," said Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis.
"We do not believe that prices are set to fall sharply over a sustained period."
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