House price growth slows

Data from Nationwide shows that UK house price growth slowed in September, with the average price up by just 0.1% over the month, with this far lower than the growth of 2% recorded in August. The month-on-month increase means the average price hit £248,742 last month. The report also shows that annual house price growth in September came in at 10%, down from 11% in August. Wales and Northern Ireland were the strongest performing parts of the UK, while London was the weakest. In Wales, property prices have risen over 15% in the past year. Meanwhile, London saw annual growth slowing to 4.2%. England saw a slowing in annual house price growth to 8.5%, from 9.9% in the second quarter. Property price growth in northern England continued to exceed that in southern England. Reflecting on the data, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, noted the impact of the tapering stamp duty holiday, adding that “activity is likely to soften” now the tax break has been withdrawn.

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