Real Estate

UK house price growth falls to slowest pace since February


UK house price growth remained sluggish in June, dropping to its slowest pace since February, with uncertainty set to continue to drag on the sector.

Prices rose by just 0.5 per cent during the month, compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index. This marked the seventh consecutive month it has been below 1 per cent. In May the figure was 0.6 per cent.

“Housing market trends are likely to continue to mirror developments in the broader economy,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.

“While healthy labour market conditions and low borrowing costs will provide underlying support, uncertainty is likely to continue to act as a drag on sentiment and activity, with price growth and transaction levels remaining close to current levels over the coming months.”

In London, prices fell for the eighth straight quarter in the three months to June, though the pace of decline moderated slightly to 0.7 per cent from 3.8 per cent the previous quarter.

However, prices in the capital remain only 5 per cent below their all time highs in the first quarter of 2017 and are around 50 per cent higher than they were in 2007. In the rest of the country, they are only 17 per cent higher.

The slowdown in the English property market has led to a retreat by “flippers” who buy homes to sell them on rapidly at a profit, with speculative homebuying in the capital down by almost half over the past four year.

Northern Ireland was the strongest performing region, with prices ticking up 5.2 per cent compared to 3.3 per cent in the previous quarter; in Wales they rose 4.2 per cent, compared with 0.9 per cent before; in Scotland prices were up 0.4 per cent, down from previous growth of 2.4 per cent; while in England they remained essentially flat.



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