What will happen to UK house prices in the coming months?

New stats from Nationwide out today hint at bleak future

House price growth picked up slightly this month with the outlook of the future still “clouded”.

According to figures from Nationwide, the average cost of a home was £206,145 in August, up 0.6% compared with July.

Prices in August were 5.6% higher than a year earlier, compared with 5.2% in July.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “UK house prices increased by 0.6% in August, resulting in a slight pickup in the annual rate of house price growth to 5.6%, from 5.2% in July, although this remains within the 3-6% range prevailing since early 2015.

“The pick up in price growth is somewhat at odds with signs that housing market activity has slowed in recent months. New buyer enquiries have softened as a result of the introduction of additional stamp duty on second homes in April and the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to an eighteen-month low in July.

Economists aren’t upbeat about house price growth in the future.

“We believe housing market activity is likely to be limited over the coming months and prices will weaken as prolonged uncertainty following the UK’s vote to leave the EU constrains consumer confidence and willingness to engage in major transactions, and also hampers economic activity,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.