Annual house price growth in the UK has remained below 1% for nine consecutive months, new data revealed on Friday.
According to the Nationwide Home Price Index, home prices rose 0.6% in August compared to the same month last year.
This follows a 0.3% annualized increase recorded just one month earlier, in July.
Nationwide said prices were unchanged month-over-month, taking seasonal factors into account.
Commenting on the data, Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said: “While home price growth has been fairly stable, there have been mixed signals from the real estate market in recent months.”
“Although key consumer confidence indicators remain weak, the research team reports a slight increase in inquiries from new buyers.Although the number of home purchase approvals remains generally stable, “The data on caseloads shows a slowdown in activity,” Nationwide’s chief economist continued.
“Housing market trends will continue to be highly dependent on overall economic developments. In the short term, healthy labor market conditions and low borrowing costs will provide fundamental support, but uncertainty remains likely to impact sentiment and activity.”
The data comes as news broke earlier this week that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had asked the Queen to prorogue Parliament ahead of an extension to the Brexit deadline, with MPs urging them to prevent a no-deal Brexit. The announcement came just days after the stock plunged.
“We recently found that proximity to tube, tram and train stations is the most expensive property in London, Manchester and Glasgow, after taking into account other property characteristics such as property type, number of bedrooms and neighborhood type. “We have updated our research on how this will impact the economy,” Nationwide’s chief economist continued.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, homebuyers in London appear to be willing to pay a higher premium for proximity to stations compared to homebuyers in Greater Manchester or Glasgow.”
