Annual house price growth in the UK has remained below 1% for the ninth consecutive month, new data revealed on Friday.
According to Nationwide’s House Price Index, house prices in August rose 0.6% year-on-year.
This follows a 0.3% annual increase recorded just a month before in July.
Prices remain unchanged month-on-month after taking account of seasonal factors, Nationwide said.
“While house price growth has remained fairly stable, there have been mixed signals from the property market in recent months,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, commented on the data.
“Surveyors report that new buyer enquiries have increased a little, though key consumer confidence indicators remain subdued. Data on the number of property transactions points to a slowdown in activity, though the number of mortgages approved for house purchase has remained broadly stable,” Nationwide’s Chief Economist continued.
“Housing market trends will remain heavily dependent on developments in the broader economy. In the near term, healthy labour market conditions and low borrowing costs will provide underlying support, though uncertainty is likely to continue to exert a drag on sentiment and activity.”
The data comes just days after the pound took a hit earlier this week after news broke that Boris Johnson had asked the Queen to suspend parliament ahead of the extended Brexit date, preventing MPs from blocking a no-deal exit.
“We recently updated our research on how the proximity to either a tube, tram or railway station impacted property prices in London, Manchester and Glasgow, after taking account of other property characteristics, such as property type, number of bedrooms and local neighbourhood type,” Nationwide’s Chief Economist continued.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, London homebuyers appear willing to pay a greater premium for being close to a station, compared with those in Greater Manchester and Glasgow.”