Prices down in December says Nationwide

Posted: 02 Jan 2008 12:49:33 GMT

The latest Nationwide house price index has revealed that prices fell by 0.5 per cent in December, bringing the annual rate of inflation down to 4.8 per cent in the process.

The latest Nationwide house price index has revealed that prices fell by 0.5 per cent in December, bringing the annual rate of inflation down to 4.8 per cent in the process.

The study, which had previously reported a 0.8 per cent fall in November, puts the average price of a home in the UK at £184,099.

Nationwide has said that the credit crunch has accelerated the slowdown in the housing market, but cautioned that expected interest rate cuts may not be able to jump-start the market as they have done in the past.

"It is true that lower interest rates will probably help market activity recover somewhat later in 2008, as lower house price growth restores some affordability and allows pent-up demand from first-time buyers to be released," said Nationwide chief economist Fionnuala Earley.

"[But] this time around lower interest rates are more likely to stabilise market activity rather than re-ignite it," Ms Earley added.

A separate study by Hometrack published last month found that house prices had fallen by 0.3 per cent in December.


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