30
Apr
Houses prices 'lower than a year ago'
House prices fell by 1.1 per cent in April, according to the latest
data from Nationwide.
The price of a typical house is now £178,555 - one per cent
lower than at this time last year, which represents the first
year-on-year fall in prices since March 1996.
Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, noted that there
has also been a "steep decline" in house purchase transactions over
the last six months and predicted that the weaker housing market is
likely to bring about additional rate cuts from the Bank of
England.
She suggested that the falling house prices reflect "the weakening
sentiment in the market brought about by poor affordability and
tighter financial market conditions".
Bank of England data released yesterday showed that the number of
loans approved for house purchase in March was lower both than in
February and the previous six-month average, at 64,000.
