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Just days after the Nationwide reported house prices up in May, the Halifax followed suit, saying that prices were 2.6 per cent higher in May than in April.

The exact size of the rise is arguably less important than the fact that May is the first month in more than a year when both major lenders have reported a rise in prices.  Monthly reports from both the Halifax and the Nationwide have tended to contradict one another with rises in some months reported by one and in other months by the other.

As Halifax housing economist, Nitesh Patel, points out: "It is always important not to place too much weight on any one month's figures. Historically, house prices have not moved in the same direction month after month even during a pronounced downturn".  Nevertheless, the apparent consensus that prices did rise in May suggests that the earlier report from the Nationwide was not a statistical freak.

Having said that, neither lender is suggesting that prices are now on a steady upward path or even that price falls have come to an end.  Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said recently: "Although the short-term trend in house prices has clearly improved from where it was at the beginning of the year, it is still too early to say that the market is turning definitively".  And Nitesh Patel echoed that view, commenting: "House sales remain substantially below their long term average and market conditions are expected to remain difficult with housing activity continuing at low levels over the coming months."

Nevertheless, the signs that the market is stabilising are growing.  The Halifax said that prices fell by 3.1 per cent in the last three months.  That is compared to falls of five to six per cent recorded consistently between June 2008 and January 2009.  The figures from the Nationwide were even more marked with prices falling just 0.5 per cent in the last three months compared to average three monthly declines of 4.4 per cent over the past 12 months.