UK house prices increased 6.0% last month, the slowest annual rate in four months.

This is according to mortgage lender Halifax on Friday, who added there will likely be more downward pressure later this year.

House prices in Britain were 6% higher in December than the same time last year, following on from a 7.6% increase in November, the largest in four and a half years, says Halifax.

The average house price last month was £253,374.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: “Average houses prices rose again in December, stretching the current run of continuous gains to six months. However, the monthly rise of 0.2% was the lowest seen during this period and significantly down on the 1% increase in November.”

Following the first coronavirus lockdown, Britain’s housing market boomed as home buyers sought larger properties with gardens.

The Bank of England said this week that mortgage approvals in November surpassed 100,000 for the first time since 2007, Reuters reports.

Halifax stated that this activity should bolster house prices in the near-term, until the end of March at least, when a temporary reduction to property purchase tax comes to an end and the government’s “Help to Buy” initiative is curtailed.

According to Halifax Managing Director Russell Galley: “In the near-term, and with mortgage approvals still sitting at a 13-year high, there may be enough residual strength in the market to sustain prices up to the deadline for the stamp duty holiday and the scaling back of Help to Buy at the end of March.

“However, with the pace of the UK’s economic recovery expected to be constrained by the renewed national lockdown, and unemployment widely predicted to rise in the coming months, downward pressure on house prices remains likely as we move through 2021.”