House prices fall 0.6 percent in July - Halifax

Cars pass property sales and letting signs in west London October 28, 2010.

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices fell by 0.6 percent in July, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday, a marginally bigger fall than economists had forecast but one that leaves the pattern of broadly stable prices intact.

House prices in the three months to July are 0.6 percent down on a year earlier, in line with forecasts and similar to the annual drop Halifax reported in June, and overall price levels are close to those seen in summer 2009.

"At a national level, house prices have been very stable over the past year or so. This can largely be explained by the static nature of supply and demand conditions during this period," said Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis.

"Looking forward, we expect little change in prices over the remainder of 2012 so long as the economic climate in the UK does not worsen substantially," he added.

Halifax is part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), one of Britain's biggest retail banks.

(Reporting by David Milliken Editing by Maria Golovnina)