The Nationwide have just released their HPI for September 2016.
- House prices increased by 0.3% in September
- Annual house price growth slowed to 5.3%, from 5.6% in August
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “The pace of annual house price growth slowed to 5.3% in September, from 5.6% in August, though it remained within the narrow range of 3% to 6% that has prevailed since early 2015. “The relative stability in the rate of house price growth suggests that the softening in housing demand evident in recent months has been broadly matched on the supply side of the market. Survey data indicates that, while new buyer enquiries have remained fairly subdued, the number of homes on the market has remained close to all-time lows, in part due to low rates of construction activity.
The latest Nationwide House Price Index for September and Q3 of 2016 shows house prices have continued their upward trend, increasing by 0.3%, although the rate of growth is beginning to slow with the annual increase down on August at 5.3% to last month’s 5.6%, however prices are still up 1.3% during Q3.
Over Q3 the Outer Metropolitan area has seen the largest annual increase at 9.6% followed by the Outer South East (8%), East Anglia (7.3%) and London (7.1%).
The Outer Met area has also enjoyed the largest increase over Q3 at 12.4%, closely followed by London at 9.9%.
The North (-0.2%) and Wales (-0.5%) are the only regions to see a price drop annually.
As a result, the quarterly average UK house price is now £206,346, £255,646 in England, with London remaining the most expensive region. The price decrease in the North means it is the least expensive region with the Outer Met region seeing the strongest annual growth, with Wales, in contrast, seeing the lowest.
Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented:
“Today’s report by Nationwide shows that prices have cooled marginally since last month, which could elude to the first real evidence of any post-Brexit uncertainty in the market.
I don’t think this is quite what we are seeing. The market remains in a very stable condition and in fact prices are showing stronger rates of growth both quarter to quarter and annually when compared to September of last year.
September has also enjoyed the third largest annual price growth year on year, so I don’t think there is any need to run for the hills just yet. As Nationwide point out, the rate of supply has remained inadequate however, it seems the slight cool in prices is a result of buyers sitting tight rather than sellers and who can blame them.
The inflated sate of the market coupled with sucker punches by the government, such as yesterday’s decision to scrap the Help to Buy scheme, means getting on the ladder in today’s climate is a big ask.
A rather mixed picture regionally, with homeowners in Wales suffering the most with an annual drop of -0.5%.
Very interesting to see that Nationwide report a slow in most southern regions, whilst the majority of regions in the North have seen stronger growth. This could be a sign of post-Brexit confidence between what is for the large part, the split between the Leave and Remain camps. Either way, it would seem the northern property powerhouse could be starting to stir once again, helping to reduce the North-South divide as has been seen previously.”
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