Nationwide sees 'tentative' slowdown in house prices after June figures
The pace of growth in UK house prices in June slowed from the previous month, with “tentative” signs of a slowdown in the market, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.
House prices in June were 0.3% higher than in May, when they rose 0.9%, and were up 10.7% year on year, a slowdown from May’s annual growth of 11.2%. Economists had forecast monthly and annual price rises of 0.5% and 10.8% respectively.
“There are tentative signs of a slowdown, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchases falling back towards pre-pandemic levels in April and surveyors reporting some softening in new buyer enquiries,” said the building society’s chief economist Robert Gardner.
“Nevertheless, the housing market has retained a surprising amount of momentum given the mounting pressure on household budgets from high inflation, which has already driven consumer confidence to a record low.”
Gardner said a strong labour market and low housing stock availability had helped to keep upward pressure on house prices. The average price of a home rose to a record £271,613.
“The market is expected to slow further as pressure on household finances intensifies in the coming quarters, with inflation expected to reach double digits towards the end of the year,” he said.
“Moreover, the Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates further, which will also exert a cooling impact on the market if this feeds through to mortgage rates.”
Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com