The Nationwide has produced figures which show the weakest annual growth in house prices in almost three years and says there is no sustained recovery on the horizon.
The month-on-month house price figures for June saw a fall of 0.6%, whilst the year-on-year figures were even worse, seeing a drop of 1.5%, leading to the price of an average property in the UK falling to £165,738. The Nationwide says that the end of the stamp duty holiday in March, which provided concessions for first-time-buyers, is at least partly to blame for the disappointing figures, especially as mortgage lenders for those entering the market for the first time were about 40% higher than usual in March as they clamoured to buy property before the discount period ended. Nationwide said that about 200,000 first-time buyers took advantage of the concession in the two years it was in place but, now it has ended, many feel the market needs other stimuli to get it moving.
There are hopes that a "funding for lending" scheme announced by the Bank of England, may kick-start lending while 95% mortgages are available to first-time buyers from many lenders, however Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said he expected to see little change in the next 12 months with people being discouraged from moving due to the ongoing economic climate and the crisis in the eurozone.
https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/few-signs-of-house-...