House prices in the three months to June were 0.5% lower than in the first quarter of 2011, according to the Halifax.

This was the smallest quarterly fall in prices since the second quarter of 2010. There was a 1.2% rise in prices in June.

The average price of a home is now £163,049. The average UK house price in June was broadly unchanged from that in December 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

On an annual basis, prices in June were 3.5% lower as measured by the average for the three months to June against the same period a year earlier. This was an improvement on the annual rate of -4.2% recorded in May.

Martin Ellis, the Halifax’s housing economist, said: “Low interest rates