Nationwide sees slight house price fall

Posted on 31 January 2008 by Charcol

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House prices fell for the third consecutive month in January, according to the latest house price index from Nationwide.

The building society now puts the average house price at £180,473, down from £182,080 in December.

After the modest monthly fall of 0.1%, the three-month on three-month rate of house price inflation has dropped from +0.9% in the period to November 2007, to -0.3% in the last quarter.

The indicator, which smoothes out the effect of any sudden monthly change, is generally taken to be a more useful guide to the direction of prices.

Commenting on the figures, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' senior economist David Stubbs said: "With activity weak, the market is becoming looser and tilting the balance of power away from sellers and towards buyers.

"However, conditions in the mortgage market need to improve if the thousands of would-be first time buyers out there are going to be able to get their foot on the ladder in coming months," he added.

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