House prices were virtually static last month, according to new figures, with a relatively healthy economy and falling rates expected to sustain this trend throughout 2008. Following a 1.4 per cent increase in December, Halifax's index showed that property prices remained almost flat at an average of £197,244 in January, while the rate of annual price growth declined from 5.2 to 4.5 per cent. Other long-term trends also appear less healthy, with house prices down by one per cent quarter-on-quarter last month, their third fall in a row on this basis, as a result of the three successive monthly price decreases that preceded December's rise.