House prices fall to lowest level since October but remain higher than last year

“This isn’t a market that needs puffing up any more.

“The threat of valuations becoming detached from reality should concern buyers, landlords and investors alike.

“However, the vaccine rollout is proceeding better than expected, and if the engines of the economy are firing on all cylinders by the summer, the benefits could keep the housing market purring in the coming months.”

Lucy Pendleton, property expert at independent estate agents James Pendleton, said the small drop in house prices is a “muted response” to the end of the SDLT holiday.

The property expert said Britons were being led to believe that by January, buyers and sellers would have to face the impact of the SDLT holiday coming to an end.

However, she said the market is gearing towards a different response all together.

She continued: “Rents have fallen, putting negative pressure on prices and first-time buyers won’t pay stamp duty on purchases up to £300,000 once the scheme ends anyway, just as they did before.

“For almost everyone else, apart from those at the top of the chain, the lost relief can be clawed back by renegotiating if necessary.