01/09/2005

Fall in house prices reported

House prices fell by 0.2% in August, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide.

The building society said that the rate of annual house price growth had fallen to 2.3%; it’s lowest level in nine years.

Nationwide said that prices were experiencing a “continued controlled slowdown,” echoing the view of many experts that the UK property market is heading for a soft landing, rather than a dramatic price slump.

However, Nationwide Group Economist Fionnuala Earley said that the recent increase in mortgages approvals, announced by the Bank of England, along with last month’s interest rate cut had made the housing market more appealing to buyers and increased the numbers of enquiries.

Ms Earley said that Nationwide expected the housing market to cool in a controlled fashion, but she warned that the appearance of stabilisation in the market did not mean the beginning of sustained house price growth.

Ms Earley warned: “Even though wage inflation is almost twice the rate of house price inflation, affordability is still an issue particularly for first-time buyers, and it will take some time for the balance to be redressed.”

The release of Nationwide’s figures follow the publication of recent surveys from the Land Registry and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which showed that annual house price inflation had dropped to 5%.

House price inflation was increasing at a rate of almost 20% a year ago.

(KMcA/SP)


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