Annual house price growth drops for second straight month.
House price growth is continuing to slow, according to the latest Nationwide house price index.
The building society’s index reveals house prices rose 0.5% in October, compared to a drop of 0.1% in September. However, this modest growth has only helped to push the annual rate of growth down for a second straight month, this time from 9.4% to 9%.
Nationwide says the average UK house price is now worth £189,333.
Here’s how prices have moved so far over the last 12 months, according to Nationwide.
|
|
Monthly % change (seasonally adjusted) |
Quarterly % change |
Annual % change |
Average price |
|
November 2014 |
0.7% |
2.9% |
6.5% |
£174,566 |
|
December 2014 |
1.5% |
3% |
8.4% |
£175,826 |
|
January 2014 |
0.9% |
3.1% |
8.8% |
£176,491 |
|
February 2014 |
0.7% |
3.1% |
9.4% |
£177,846 |
|
March 2014 |
0.5% |
2.8% |
9.5% |
£180,264 |
|
April 2014 |
1.2% |
2.6% |
10.9% |
£183,577 |
|
May 2014 |
0.7% |
2.4% |
11.1% |
£186,512 |
|
June 2014 |
1% |
2.7% |
11.8% |
£188,903 |
|
July 2014 |
0.2% |
2.5% |
10.6% |
£188,949 |
|
August 2014 |
0.8% |
2.3% |
11% |
£189,306 |
|
September 2014 |
-0.1% |
1.6% |
9.4% |
£188,374 |
|
October 2014 |
0.5% |
1.4% |
9% |
£189.333 |
Losing momentum
[SPOTLIGHT]Nationwide pointed out that a number of factors suggest the housing market has lost momentum. For example, mortgage approvals for house purchases in September are down by almost 20% from the start of the year.
The building society also highlighted the fact that the balance of new buyer enquiries continues to fall, as revealed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This drop off in demand can only act as a brake on house price growth.
That said, the broader economic indicators look pretty good, with unemployment falling and consumer confidence rising.
House price rises coming to an end
Halifax’s latest index published earlier this month suggested that house price rises are coming to an end, as supply and demand are becoming “increasingly better balanced”.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Economic Business Research has predicted that house prices will fall next year, which would be the first annual fall since the financial crisis.
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