The UK housing market has reached a turning point with prices dropping for the seventh month in a row. This is according to Nationwide, which released the March House Price Index (HPI) today (March 31) showing house prices are down by 3.1 per cent, the largest annual decline since 2009.
The South West region saw a 1.1 per cent decline, with an average house price of £302,451. Nationwide’s figures are derived from its lending data from properties in the post-survey approval stage. The figures showed West Midlands was the strongest performing region, while Scotland remained the weakest.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “March saw a further decline in annual house price growth, with prices down 3.1 per cent compared with the same month last year. March also saw a further monthly price fall (-0.8 per cent) – the seventh in a row – which leaves prices 4.6 per cent below their August peak (after taking account of seasonal effects).
