House prices remain steady, says Nationwide

UK house prices have remained flat over the last month, according to new figures from Nationwide building society.

In its latest monthly survey, average prices were unchanged over November, remaining at just below £164,000, and are 1.2% lower than last November.

Nationwide economist Robert Gardner said the underlying position of the house market was in fact stable.

“UK house prices were unchanged over the month in November, after taking account of normal seasonal factors

“Moreover, annual price growth has remained in a narrow band between +1.5% and -1.5% on all but two occasions over the past two years.”

Gardner suggested house prices remained stable due to a combination of low interest rates and unemployment.

“The resilience of employment together with the ultra-low level of interest rates has been instrumental in preventing a glut of unsold homes from building up on the market and exerting sustained downward pressure on house prices.”

This comes as the number of mortgages approved for home purchases rose slightly in October, according to the Bank of England.

The figures, released accidentally on Wednesday, showed that 52,982 were approved, a rise from 50,415 the previous month and higher than the average of the last six months.