LONDON (MNI) – UK house prices fell again in January after a rise
in December had ended a sequence of two consecutive monthly declines,
according to the latest Nationwide survey.
Nationwide said house prices were down 0.1% on the month in January
and fell 1.1% on the year. This followed a 0.4% monthly rise in
December, a 0.3% fall in November and a 0.7% drop in October.
In the three months through January, house prices were down 0.5%,
compared to a 1.0% fall in the three months through December.
“The property market entered 2011 with a whimper rather than a
bang, with house prices edging down slightly in January,” said
Nationwide Chief Economist Martin Gahbauer.
“January’s data does little to alter the picture of a sluggish
market that has been evident since the summer. Indeed, the three-month
on three-month measure of house prices, which is a better measure of
the underlying trend, showed a fall of 0.5%, consistent with the gradual
moderation in prices that has been in place since the summer of 2010,”
he said.
“The outlook is still highly uncertain, but the most likely outcome
is that the pattern of low transaction levels and prices moving sideways
or modestly lower will continue through 2011,” he added.
Gahbauer also said that high inflation readings reinforce the
notion that the housing market is likely to remain sluggish in 2011 as a
knock-on effect of squeezed household budgets.
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491; email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com
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