UK house prices fall at steepest rate in more than three years

• UK house prices fell 0.6% in October, the steepest monthly drop since August 2023 and the fourth consecutive monthly decline, leaving the average property at £296,285, according to lender Lloyds. • Prices are down 1.2% on a year earlier, the biggest annual fall since October 2023, with the average two-year fixed mortgage now at 5.97% and the five-year at 5.99%. • The figures land a day after the Bank of England raised the base rate by a quarter point to 4%, and Savills says the sluggish market is not expected to recover until 2028.