Nationwide Building Society has released new figures that show a slowdown in the growth of house prices in the UK during March, following months of sharp rises.
These figures reveal that there was growth of 5.7% in house prices across the UK last month, compared with 6.9% growth for the month before. Furthermore, the average price of a home month-on-month dipped by 0.2% to £232,134. This still represents a sizeable increase in comparison to the £219,583 average house price that was recorded for the same month in 2020, however.
The Nationwide figures also show that there were significant regional variances in the rate of house price growth during 2021 Q1, with the North West being the area where prices rose the most. In that region, there was growth of 8.2% in prices throughout Q1.
London was the area where house price growth stalled the most, with a 2021 Q1 increase of 4.8% being reported. This took the average price of a London home for that quarter to £482,576.
The Chief Economist for Nationwide, Robert Gardner, told Mortgage Strategy that this slowing down of house price growth was likely due to the fact that the stamp duty threshold was originally due to return to normal in April, before the extension to the holiday was confirmed.
Gardner added that the plans revealed in the Budget to stimulate demand in the market could yet bring about another bounce. This price slowdown could help mortgage advisors with CeMAP skills to find affordable options for their clients.
