UK house prices fell lower than anticipated this month after expanding in March at the fastest rate since 2004.
- Annual price growth eased to 12.1% in April from March’s 18-year peak of 14.3%, after a 0.3% monthly jump which was the smallest since September and well below estimate by economists in a Reuter’s poll for a 0.8% jump.
- Nationwide stated that prices were being supported by a solid job market, but it projected momentum to deteriorate this year due to stretched affordability and falling real incomes.
- British house prices increased sharply after a prior lull at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as many richer households sought more space to support working from home.
- The percentage of people looking to move house was higher than the prior year, but the percentage looking to move away from cities had dropped to 12% from 25%.
The average house price in April was 267,620 pounds, an increase from 222,915 pounds two years earlier at the beginning of the pandemic.
FTSE 100 up +0.072%, GBP USD up +1.04%
Source: Nationwide