Date issued: 30 Apr 2008
HOUSING MARKET WEAKNESS STRETCHES INTO APRIL
- House prices fell for the sixth consecutive month in April
- The price of a typical house is now 1% lower than this time last year
- The Bank of England bond exchange scheme should help to improve financial market liquidity
- More than 5 million borrowers have benefited from Bank of England rate cuts
| Headlines |
April 2008 |
March 2008 |
| Monthly index * Q1 '93 = 100 |
355.5 |
359.4 |
| Monthly change* |
-1.1% |
-0.7% |
| Annual change |
-1.0% |
1.1% |
| Average price |
£178,555 |
£179,110 |
* seasonally adjusted
Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
“April was another difficult month for the housing market. Falling levels of market activity meant that prices fell by 1.1% during the month and ended up 1% lower than this time last year. April’s fall in prices continues the trend of the last six months and reflects the weakening sentiment in the market brought about by poor affordability and tighter financial market conditions. This is the first year-on-year fall in prices since March 1996 and brings the price of a typical house to £178,555, £1,759 lower than at this time last year."
For further information please see this month's full report (PDF 50KB).
