Image copyright PA

House price rises in the UK slowed in the year to the end of May - increasing by 1.9%, according to a lender.

The Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said that the change reflected "a relatively subdued" housing market.

The cost of a typical home was now £224,439, the Halifax calculated from its own mortgage data.

It also said that while detached and semi-detached homes were the most common purchases, flats had seen bigger price gains over the past five years.

Flats increased in value by 48% between 2013 and 2018, the Halifax said, compared to 39% for all property types over the same period.

Hard bargaining

The lender said that house prices in general had risen by 1.5% in May compared with April. The less volatile quarter-on-quarter change found that property values had risen by 0.2%,

London estate agent Jeremy Leaf said that there was "no real pattern" in the market at the moment.

"Buyers and sellers [are] negotiating hard but not always successfully," he said.

"Looking forward, we expect more of the same and possibly slightly better as we await figures reflecting the crucial spring market period."