House prices see steepest fall in 14 years

House prices fell at the fastest annual rate for 14 years in July, according to data from Nationwide. The 3.8% year-on-year decline was the steepest since July 2009. The fall took the average UK house price to £260,828, with this around £13,000 – or 4.5% - below a peak recorded in August 2022. Month-on-month, prices were down 0.2% in July. Noting that housing affordability “remains stretched” for those hoping to buy a home with a mortgage, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said a “challenging affordability picture helps to explain why housing market activity has been subdued in recent months.” Separate data from HMRC shows that house sales fell by 15% in June compared with the same month a year earlier. An estimated 85,870 transactions took place in June 2023 across the UK, which was 6% higher than in May this year. The report said that part of the month-on-month increase can be explained by a higher number of working days in June than in May.

BBC News (01/08/2023)   Evening Standard (01/08/2023)   The Daily Telegraph (01/08/2023)   The Guardian (01/08/2023)