UK house prices: Brexit drags back September growth
Annual he owth in UK house prices fell back to 0.2 per cent in September, according to Nationwide data released today.
The drop in growth came as September’s house valuations slipped 0.2 per cent against August’s.
That left the average UK house price at £215,352 last month, a drop from £216,096 in August.
Annual growth dropped to a third of August’s already subdued 0.6 per cent climb, with economists blaming prolonged Brexit uncertainty and indicators that suggest the UK is teetering towards a recession.
“Indicators of UK economic activity have been fairly volatile in recent quarters, but the underlying pace of growth appears to have slowed as a result of weaker global growth and an intensification of Brexit uncertainty, ” Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said.
“However, the slowdown has centred on business investment – household spending has been more resilient, supported by steady gains in employment and real earnings.”
“The underlying pace of housing market activity has remained broadly stable, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase continuing within the fairly narrow range prevailing over the past two years. Healthy labour market conditions and low borrowing costs appear to be offsetting the drag from the uncertain economic outlook.
More to follow.