House prices fall for first time in 10 months
By myfinances.co.uk staff
UK house prices fell by one per cent in February as the end of the stamp duty holiday and the bad weather dampened market activity, Nationwide has said.
The drop ended nine consecutive months of gains for property values, leaving the cost of the average home at £161,320.
Nevertheless, the lender said annual house price inflation increased during last month from 8.6 per cent to 9.2 per cent.
Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer said it is unclear whether February's drop in monthly house price inflation is a blip or the start of a new trend because it is difficult to assess the impact on market activity of "one off factors", such as the bad weather and the end of the stamp duty holiday for properties valued at between £125,000 and £175,000.
The company's figures come after the latest data from the Land Registry showed house prices in England and Wales rose by 2.1 per cent to £165,088 in January.
Commenting on the figures, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors chief economist Simon Rubinsohn played down the "monthly volatility".
"The underlying trend in the Nationwide data is still pointing toward an annualised increase in prices of more than six per cent," he said.
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- house prices ,
- land registry ,
- news ,
- property ,
- property supply
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