House prices fall 0.4%, reveals Nationwide
The average house price fell to £151,861 in April, reveals Nationwide's latest House Price Index.
Prices are now 15% down on April 2008 (£178,555).
Fionnuala Earley (pictured), Nationwide's chief economist, says: "The price of a typical house fell by 0.4% in April. This reverses some of the rise seen in March, but is in line with our expectations."
However, she adds: "The three-month on three-month rate of change, generally a smoother indicator of the short-term trend in prices, improved to -3.1% in April from -4.1% in March."
The Index says that the falling house prices means that more first-time buyers are exempt from the newly-extended Stamp Duty holiday.
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced an extension of the Stamp Duty holiday for all properties up to £175,000 to the end of the year in his Budget Report last week.
According to Earley, the average house price is now below the £175,000 limit in every UK region apart from London and the outer metropolitan area.
Latest Jobs
- Sales, Marketing, IT, Finance, Customer Service and New Product Development roles available
- See individual specifications for details
- The Digital Property Group
- Associate Director
- Mayfair, London
- Hamptons International
- Property Sales, Managers, Negotiators and Coordinators
- Dubai
- Excellent Salary
- Smith & Ken
- Lettings Negotiator
- Wimbledon Village
- Robert Holmes
- Property Negotiator 2 posts
- Head Office London SE1
- £30,563 - £35,957 pa
- Peabody