Annual house price growth steady in September, says Nationwide

Nationwide’s latest quarterly house price index (HPI) showed little change in annual growth in September compared with the previous month. 

There was a marginal yearly increase of 2.2% in the month, up from 2.1% in August, with the average house costing £271,995 in September.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said: “The broad stability in the annual rate of house price growth over the past three months mirrors that of activity.

“Unemployment is low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace, household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little further if bank rate is lowered in the coming quarters as we, and most other analysts, expect.”

The number of mortgages approved for house purchase in the three months to September have been around 65,000 cases per month, which Gardner said is “close to the pre-pandemic average despite the higher interest rate environment”.

Northern Ireland was the top performing area with an annual house price growth of 9.6% in Q3, while the outer south east of England was the weakest performer with a 0.3% year-on-year rise.

House price growth in England dropped from 2.5% in Q2 to 1.6% this quarter. Meanwhile, Wales saw a slight increase in annual house price growth to 3% (up from 2.6% in Q2), while growth in Scotland slowed to 2.9% (down from 4.5% last quarter).

The north of England remains the cheapest region to purchase property, with the average home costing £169,216, while this figure is £527,694 in London.

Gardner added: “Providing the broader economic recovery is maintained, housing market activity is likely to strengthen gradually in the quarters ahead.”