House prices are likely to fall every month until the Summer but could then creep back up, a housing expert claims.

Jonathan Rolande, spokesman for the National Association of Property Buyers, says: “I believe that there will be a slight recovery in January as the difficulties of 2022 fade in the memory after the Christmas break. That said, the outlook for the first half of the year is not great for prices. We should expect small drops each month for at least the first four to six months. There are reasons to be more optimistic in the second half of the year when activity should increase during the summer months. 

“This will negate some of the price reduction but it’s looking very likely that by the end of 2023 there will have been no increase in prices and perhaps even a fall of up to 6%.

“But there are reasons to be more optimistic. In 2022 there were eight interest rate rises, five Housing Ministers, three Prime Ministers and four Chancellors. We had a fuel crisis, a post-pandemic slump and raging inflation. If the property market could withstand all of this, just imagine how easy things might be without such chaos.  The property market has come through tougher times than this, and it will do so again.”

The Halifax Bank predicts prices will drop by eight per cent this year, although this drop would not be enough to wipe away all the gains made in recent years. With the average house price in the UK £296,422 according to the latest UK House Price Index measure, that would mean the average house losing £23,713 this year.

Zoopla anticipates a smaller price fall – just five per cent – while Rightmove suggests an even less substantial dip of just two per cent.