Property sellers will be interested to hear house price growth has slowed down, with values rising slower than they have been for the last five years.

Those who are in the middle of a sale and have been using conveyancing solicitors in Surrey might try to push the transaction through as quickly as possible to avoid losing their buyer. If the sale does fall through and they have to market their property again, they might have to put it on at a lower rate to stay competitive with other similar houses on the market.

According to the Halifax House Price Index, while homes are continuing to increase in value over the year, this is only by a small amount, with an annual change of 1.5 per cent between October 2017 and 2018.

Indeed, prices only rose by 0.7 per cent from September to October and by 0.2 per cent from between May to July and August and October.

Speaking on the figures, managing director Russell Galley stated: “The annual rate of house price growth has fallen from 2.5 per cent in September to 1.5 per cent in October, which is the lowest rate of annual growth since March 2013.”

While this seems uncharacteristically low, it is still within the bank’s forecast of annual growth of between zero and three per cent for the year.

However, those selling properties in market towns could well see their values increase at a faster rate. This is due to the fact that these locations remain some of the most popular in the UK, helping to drive up property prices there.

According to Lloyds Bank, homebuyers typically pay a premium of £41,633 simply to live in an English market town, with prices growing by 25 per cent in the last ten years.