Nationwide: U.K. house prices resume their descent

After a blip in the data last month, Nationwide is reporting that U.K. house prices have resumed their fall.  However, for the second month in a row, the annual price fall has slowed.  In March, the fall was 15.7%. This month we see only 15.0% compared to prices in April 2008.

Fionnuala Earley, the Nationwide’s Chief Economist had this to say about the data:

“The price of a typical house fell by 0.4% in April. This reverses some of the rise seen in March, but is in line with our expectations, given the current economic conditions. April’s decline leaves the average price of a typical house at £151,861, down 15% from 12 months ago. The 3-month on 3-month rate of change, generally a smoother indicator of the short-term trend in prices, improved to -3.1% in April from -4.1% in March”

For the U.K., we have seen a reversion to the mean. House prices in the U.K. have now fallen to their longer-term trend. But, prices, especially in cities like London and in the southeast more generally remain out of reach for many first-time buyers. As a result, there is still more downside to come.

Source
House prices fall slightly in April – Nationwide