UK house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April, as Halifax halved its estimate for the annual rate of growth due to the conflict in the Middle East. Halifax, which is part of Lloyds – Britain’s biggest mortgage lender – said that the cost of a typical UK home fell by 0.1% in April, to £299,313. This followed a 0.5% fall in March. Halifax said the annual rate of house price growth had slowed to 0.4% from 0.8%. Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “After a strong start to the year, recent global developments have added a greater degree of uncertainty to the outlook. “In particular, higher energy prices have fed into inflation expectations, prompting markets to reassess the path for interest rates – a shift that has already pushed up borrowing costs for many buyers.…