Slight drop in house prices, according to Nationwide House Price Index.
UK house prices fell by 0.1% between January and February, according to the latest figures from Nationwide.
Nationwide’s index shows the average price of a home in the UK has dropped from £188,446 to £187,964.
The drop means that the annual rate of house price growth has dropped too, from 6.8% to 5.7%.
House price growth
Here’s how house prices have changed over the past 12 months, according to the Nationwide House Price Index.
|
Monthly change % (seasonally adjusted) |
Annual % change |
Average house price |
|
|
February 2014 |
0.8% |
9.4% |
£177,846 |
|
March 2014 |
0.5% |
9.5% |
£180,264 |
|
April 2014 |
1.2% |
10.9% |
£183,577 |
|
May 2014 |
0.7% |
11.1% |
£186,512 |
|
June 2014 |
1.0% |
11.8% |
£188,903 |
|
July 2014 |
0.2% |
10.6% |
£188,949 |
|
August 2014 |
0.8% |
11.0% |
£189,306 |
|
September 2014 |
-0.1% |
9.4% |
£188,374 |
|
October 2014 |
0.6% |
9.0% |
£189,333 |
|
November 2014 |
0.3% |
8.5% |
£189,388 |
|
December 2014 |
0.2% |
7.2% |
£188,559 |
|
January 2015 |
0.3% |
6.8% |
£188,446 |
|
February 2015 |
-0.1% |
5.7% |
£187,964 |
Source: Nationwide
What’s behind the slowdown?
Nationwide says mortgage rates remain close to all-time lows and buyers are confident thanks further improvements in the labour market.
But despite the positive economic situation, the market has remained subdued.
[SPOTLIGHT]This is partly down to the small number of mortgages being approved for house purchase, though there was a 2% increase in approvals from November to December. However Nationwide says it’s too early to determine if this will be a turning point.
Home ownership
Nationwide’s latest index also revealed home ownership is now at its lowest rate for almost thirty years and there’s been a sharp decline in the proportion of younger owner occupiers.
Among 25-34 year olds, traditionally the segment containing the most first-time buyers, the proportion owning their home fell from 59% to 36% between 2004 and 2014.
Over the same period the proportion renting increased from 41% to 64%.
However, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, is optimistic about things rebalancing.
He said: “Despite the increase in the proportion of the population renting a home in recent years, the aspiration to eventually become a homeowner remains undiminished.”
The English Housing Survey suggests that 25% of people in social housing and 61% of those in the private rental sector expect to able to buy their own home in the future.
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