House price boom slows as cost crisis hits buyers

HOUSE price growth slumped to a seven-month low in April as the cost-ofliving crisis damages confidence with buyers.

Average house prices increased by 0.3pc between March and April, said the Nationwide Building Society.

This was the slowest monthly rate recorded since September and is the biggest sign yet the property market is cooling. The month-onmonth growth rate in April was roughly a quarter of that recorded in March, when monthly prices jumped 1.1pc.

On an annual basis, house prices rose by 12.1pc in the year to April, significantly down on the 14.3pc rate in March. The average house price is now £267,620.

Jeremy Leaf, a London estate agent, said: “Further reductions in house price growth seem inevitable.”