UK house prices fell by 0.9% in February compared with the previous month, cancelling out a rise in January, according to the Halifax.

The lender, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, said that year-on-year prices had dropped by 2.8% in February.

This meant the typical home in the UK now costs £162,657.

The uncertainty of the economic climate was likely to "weigh down" the housing market, leading to a modest fall in prices in 2011, the lender said.