Date issued: 29 Jan 2009
NEW YEAR SEES LITTLE CHANGE TO RECENT HOUSE PRICE TREND
- House prices fell by 1.3% in January
- Annual rate of decline reaches 16.6% but 3-month rate improves slightly
- Economy now officially in recession, but considerable stimulus is in the pipeline
| Headlines |
January 2009 |
December 2008 |
| Monthly index * Q1 '93 = 100 |
304.5 |
308.6 |
| Monthly change* |
-1.3% |
-2.5% |
| Annual change |
-16.6% |
-15.9% |
| Average price |
£150,501 |
£153,048 |
* seasonally adjusted
Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Senior Economist, said:
“The price of a typical house fell by a further 1.3% in January, as the deepening economic recession and financial market turbulence continued to weigh on housing market sentiment and activity. January’s decline leaves the average price of a typical house at £150,501, down 16.6% from 12 months ago. The 3-month on
3-month rate of change, a smoother indicator of the short-term trend in prices, improved for the fourth consecutive month from -4.2% in December to -4.0% in January. However, it is too early to say that this marks the start of a sustained improvement in the short term trend.”
For further information please see this month's full report (PDF 73KB).
