Economy
Nationwide: House prices fall again |
|
|
| Economy | |
| Written by Gary Howes | |
| Thursday, 30 April 2009 | |
|
UK house prices fell by 0.4% in April says Nationwide Building Society. Aprils figures contrast to March's figures which showed an increase in prices. The figures also show that the pace of decline in house prices slowed - while the three month measure of credit availability increased. The price of the average property in the UK was £151,861 in April. Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “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, given the current economic conditions. April’s decline leaves the average price of a typical house at £151,861, down 15% from 12 months ago. The 3-month on 3-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. Budget measures unlikely to boost housing market The chancellor announced several measures aimed at boosting the housing market in his Budget. The scheme for government guarantees for new, high-quality residential mortgage backed securities are welcome and may help to boost the amount of mortgage credit available. However Nationwide says that since the availability of credit is only part of the reason why the housing market is in the doldrums it is unlikely to lead to a swift turnaround in its fortunes. Lenders have already indicated that the availability of credit is less of an issue than it has been, but at the same time expect that the demand for secured lending will fall further. Given the weakness of the economy and the expected further increase in unemployment Nationwide says this comes as no surprise. |
|
Digg it! 
del.icio.us 
Newsvine 
Reddit 
Stumble It! 
