HOUSE prices are expected to grow by three to five per cent across the UK next year as property values start to increase at a more uniform rate across the country, Halifax predicts.

The supply of homes for sale will start to match the number of house hunters more closely, it forecasts.

Halifax said a deterioration in affordability, with signs that buyers are reaching the ceiling of what they can afford, will be a "key factor" in curbing demand for homes, alongside the prospect of interest rates rising at some point.