Nationwide mortgage data points to house price rise

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Nationwide mortgage data points to house price rise

House prices rose just 0.4 per cent in January, as the property market increasingly favours buyers, Nationwide has said today.

Following the rapid increase in house prices in the first half of 2004, house prices have stabilised in the last six months, figures from the building society revealed.

Alex Bannister, Nationwide's group economist, commented: “Prices have now been broadly stable for six months with prices rising by an average of just 0.25 per cent per month over the period.

"This contrasts with the previous six months when prices rose by an average of 1.7 per cent per month."

The average house now costs £151,757.

Nationwide said that this slowdown in inflation was due to rapid increases in interest rates in the first half of the year adding to mortgage costs.

Since the Bank of England has decided to keep interest rates on hold since August, confidence is returning to the property market.

However, there is a shift in the market to buyers from sellers as the volume of transactions fall and rapid house price inflation has slowed.

Mr Bannister commented: “Since last summer the focus of homeowner and would-be homeowner concern appears to have shifted from 'how high interest rates will rise' to the future direction of house prices.

"Consequently, it is increasingly a buyers' market with prospective buyers staying on the sideline until the outlook becomes more certain. However, with prices having been broadly stable for six months and the market nearing the end of the usual seasonal lull, there are indications that sentiment may be about to turn more positive."

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