There was little change in UK house price growth for the month of October, new data revealed on Tuesday.
Nationwide’s House Price Index revealed that annual house price growth remained below 1% for the eleventh consecutive month, at 0.4%.
Additionally, the data also reveals a month-on-month rise of 0.2%.
The data had previously revealed that in September, UK annual house prices grew by 0.2%.
“Average prices rose by around £800 over the last 12 months, a significant slowing compared with recent years – for example, in the same period to October 2016, prices increased by £9,100,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, commented on the data.
“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 intensifying of Brexit uncertainty. To date, the slowdown has centred on business investment, while household spending has been more resilient,” Nationwide’s Chief Economist continued.
This week was meant to be the deadline for the nation’s departure from the European Union. However, Boris Johnson formally accepted the EU’s offer to extend the Brexit deadline until the end of January.
The GBP/USD is trading around 1.2850 as the Prime Minister tries again to set elections for the end of the year.
“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,” Robert Gardner continued.
Nationwide’s Chief Economist said: “Solid labour market conditions and low borrowing costs appear to be offsetting the drag from the uncertain economic outlook. The question is whether this pattern will continue.”
“There were tentative signs of a softening in the jobs market in the three months to August, as employment fell, unemployment rose, and wage growth slowed a little. If this trend continues it would be a significant concern, as the labour market has been the key factor underpinning the resilience of the household sector in recent years.”
