House prices have shown an unexpected rise since the start of the year, according to the Halifax’s January monthly report. Halifax admitted to being confounded by the figures, which contradicted expectations for prices to show a further drop after falling steadily throughout 2008. Instead the report shows that the average price of a house in the UK has risen by 1.9% since the end of last year. It is the first rise in the prices of property for sale since January last year, when prices rose by just 0.1%.

A spokesman for the Halifax said that although the figures do show early signs of the housing market beginning to stabilize at a low level the property market was probably still likely to have a difficult year. He also said that the three-month figures, which are generally a much better indicator of trends in the market, show an overall drop in prices of 5.2%. For now, it would seem the report from the Halifax is the exception to the rule – rival lenders Nationwide reported a 1.3% drop in prices for January, a figure far closer to predictions.

These national figures are unlikely to affect most local property markets and most are still seeing the reduced prices we would expect from a country that is still in recession. The cost of property for sale in Sussex is closer to reflecting the expected drop in prices than the surprise increases of the Halifax report. It would seem although we could be seeing the first signs that the property market is beginning a slow recovery, there is still a way to go yet before things are back to normal.

The anomaly in the Halifax report could be partly explained by the recent boom in some areas of London, which has just been listed as the third most expensive city (after Monte Carlo and Moscow) in the World’s Most Expensive Residential Real Estate Markets 2008. It’s believed that prices in London have risen partly due to overseas buyers attracted by lower prices and a weak pound.