Also expects house prices to grow by 1 per cent in 2018
Nationwide Building Society has reported an unexpected fall in UK house prices in February.
The averageĀ UK house prices fell by 0.3 per cent last month compared to January, states Nationwideās monthly index today, adding that it expects the UK house prices to grow at a modest pace, with annual growth of 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent this year and next.
āMonth-to-month changes can be volatile, but the slowdown is consistent with signs of softening in the household sector in recent months,ā Robert Gardner, Nationwideās chief economist, said, adding: āRetail sales were relatively soft over the Christmas period and at the start of the new year, as were key measures of consumer confidence, as the squeeze on household incomes continued to take its toll.ā
The mortgage lender stated that the average monthly house price in Britain stood at Ā£210,402 ā down from Ā£211,756 in January and up from Ā£205,846 in February 2017.
āHow the housing market performs in the year ahead will be determined in large part by developments in the wider economy and the path of interest rates. Brexit developments will remain a key factor, though these remain hard to foresee,ā Gardner added.
Talking about todayās survey, Nakul Sharma CEO and founder of Hostmaker said: āThis morningās data is encouraging for the buyers in the capital, with house prices flattening and London moving to a buyersā market. The figures show that London property market continues to slow, it now takes on average 83 days to sell a house in the capital, meaning properties are left sitting empty. Many sellers are having to forgo some of the considerable price gains of the last few years to attract more buyers and speed up the sales process, while those that are cash rich happy to hang onto the property for now and hope for the market to bounce. In London, we now see offers being accepted 10% below the asking price and sellers having to slash prices to entice buyers.ā
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