UK house prices moved into positive territory, on an annual basis, for the first time in over a year after 0.8% growth in March. Figures from Nationwide today show the typical UK home is valued at £164,630 – up from £163,327 in March 2011. Prices flat lined on a monthly basis as no growth was recorded between February and March.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner says: “In recent months buyer demand has been supported by healthy rates of employment growth, as well as the Funding for Lending Scheme, which has helped to reduce mortgage costs and increase credit availability. At the same time housing supply has remained relatively constrained. The outlook for the housing market is unusually uncertain at present, in part because the prospects for the wider economy are unclear, but also as the impact of a number of policy initiatives is hard to gauge.”