House prices record biggest annual fall in years
Average house prices recorded their biggest annual fall in nearly 14 years last month, according to Britain's biggest building society.
The Nationwide Building Society’s monthly index shows property values fell by 3.4% annually in May - the biggest drop since July 2009 when an annual fall of 6.2% was recorded.
The data shows the house prices fell by 0.1% month on month, following a 0.4% monthly increase in April –
The average UK house price in May was £260,736, according to the index.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Average prices remain 4% below their August 2022 peak.
"Recent Bank of England data had shown some signs of recovery in housing market activity, although the number of mortgages approved for house purchase in March was still around 20% below pre-pandemic levels."
Mr Gardner continued: "Headwinds to the housing market look set to strengthen in the near term.
"While consumer price inflation did slow in April, it was a much smaller decline than most analysts had expected.
"Furthermore, rates are also projected to remain higher for longer.
"If maintained, this is likely to exert renewed upward pressure on mortgage rates.
"Nevertheless, in our view a relatively soft landing remains the most likely outcome since labour market conditions remain solid and household balance sheets appear in relatively good shape.
"While activity is likely to remain subdued in the near term, healthy rates of nominal income growth, together with modestly lower house prices, should help to improve housing affordability over time.”