House Prices Fall

Figures from the Nationwide show that the price of the average house has fallen in March by 0.6% to £179,100.

The annual rate of house price inflation is now 1.1%, the lowest since March 1996.

Fionnuala Earley, group economist for Nationwide, is quoted in The Times:

"The outlook for UK house prices is clearly more downbeat. Some of the downside risks we identified in November have become a reality — most notably the continued turmoil in the financial markets."

Howard Archer, chief economist for Global Insight, is predicting a 5% fall in house prices this year and next.

The downturn and continued uncertainty wrt the economy adds to the pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates.