First fall in 17 months according to Nationwide house price index.
House prices fell in September, according to the latest Nationwide house price index.
The 0.2% fall follows 16 straight months of house price growth. As a result annual growth has dropped from 11% in August to 9.4%, taking the average UK house price down from £189,306 to £188,374.
What’s more, Nationwide warned there may be more falls to come.
Robert Gardner, chief economist at the building society, said: “The outlook remains uncertain. There have been tentative signs from surveyors and estate agents that buyer demand may be starting to moderate, but the low level of interest rates and strong labour market suggest that underlying demand is likely to remain robust."
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The picture in the regions
On a regional basis, the picture is mixed. Once again, it’s London and the South East that are seeing the strongest increases. The capital has seen prices jump an extraordinary 21% over the past year, according to Nationwide’s index. In fact its prices are now 31% above the 2007 peak. That said, prices only increased by 0.9% over the quarter. As the table below demonstrates, that makes it one of the worst performing regions in the third quarter of this year.
|
Region |
Quarterly change |
Annual change |
Average price |
|
East Anglia |
3% |
11% |
£194,680 |
|
Northern Ireland |
2.9% |
10.2% |
£119,782 |
|
West Midlands |
2% |
8.6% |
£164,067 |
|
East Midlands |
2% |
7.8% |
£157,293 |
|
Outer South East |
1.6% |
13.2% |
£234,370 |
|
Scotland |
1.3% |
5.2% |
£142,288 |
|
North West |
1.2% |
6.1% |
£146,760 |
|
Yorkshire & Humberside |
1.1% |
5.5% |
£145,265 |
|
Outer Metropolitan |
1% |
14.4% |
£298,558 |
|
South West |
1% |
9.2% |
£209,121 |
|
London |
0.9% |
21% |
£401,072 |
|
Wales |
-0.8% |
5% |
£144,096 |
|
North |
-2.1% |
4.3% |
£121,990 |
Last week figures from the Land Registry suggested house prices have hit a new record high. However, as Land Registry figures are a little behind the other house price indices, Nationwide’s findings may be reaffirmed when the Land Registry publishes its next update.
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