Such gains have now come to an end. U.K. home prices fell for a third month in January, according to Rightmove Plc, Britain's most-used property Web site. The average asking price for U.K. homes dropped 0.8 percent to 230,428 pounds in January from the previous month, Rightmove said last week. In December, there was a 3.2 percent decline.
Mortgage approvals dropped to the lowest in at least a decade in December as banks curbed their lending and higher interest rates deterred buyers.