January house prices down again

January saw the average UK property price fall for the third consecutive month.

That is according to the latest Nationwide house price index, which revealed that there was a month-on-month fall of 0.1 per cent.

It means that annual inflation also fell from 4.8 per cent in December to just 4.2 per cent in January, with the average property price standing at £180,473.

Further to the decline in monthly price growth, three-month-on-three-month price growth was also down, with the average property losing 0.3 per cent of its value in that time.

"The weakening trend in house prices during the last three months is consistent with the loosening in housing market conditions that has become increasingly evident in the data," commented Halifax senior economist Martin Gahbauer.

"Key indicators such as mortgage approvals and the sales-to-stock ratio have now fallen close to or even below the troughs reached in late 2004, a period that was followed by a year of very subdued price growth.

"This undoubtedly signals a continued cooling in annual house price inflation during the months ahead," he added.

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