Yorkshire growth behind last year

PRICES: Yorkshire house prices rose 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to four per cent over the same period last year, according to Nationwide. Nationally, annual house price growth softened to 3.5 per cent and fell 0.3 per cent in March. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “There was a mixed picture across the UK in quarter one. Six regions saw the pace of house price growth accelerate, six saw a deceleration and one recorded the same rate. The South of England continued to see slightly stronger price growth than the North of England, but there was a narrowing in the differential.”