UK house prices have fallen on an annual basis for the first time in three years, marking a significant inflection point after a prolonged period of resilience that had defied predictions of a post-pandemic correction. The latest figures suggest average values have slipped by roughly 0.4% year-on-year, a modest but symbolically important reversal after months of stagnant-to-positive growth propped up by a shortage of housing stock and stubbornly high buyer demand in key regional cities. For a market that has spent much of 2023 and 2024 shrugging off higher borrowing costs, this represents the clearest evidence yet that affordability constraints are finally biting.