UK house price growth cools

Posted: 27 Apr 2006 09:23:20 GMT

Many prospective first-time homebuyers will by encouraged by news that house price inflation eased in April, falling from 1.1 per cent to 0.1 per cent.

Statistics from Nationwide indicate that annual house price growth also fell back to below five per cent during the month.

At the same time, the property market as a whole remains healthy, according to economists at Nationwide, with house buying activity still strong.

One of the chief factors behind the staggering house price growth in recent months has been the basic lack of supply, with considerably more buyers than sellers.

The new figures indicate that more sellers are looking to take advantage of these favourable conditions by advertising their property online or through an estate agent.

The underlying prediction for the next few months is that house buying activity will fall towards its longer-term average, while the market is expected to take some time to adjust to new economic conditions.

In the UK as a whole, the price of a typical house is now £163,573, which is around £7,500 more than at the same time last year.


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