British house price inflation slowed to its weakest rate in nearly nine years in May, the Nationwide building society said today in another sign the the country's long-running housing boom has ended.
The mortgage lender said house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month. That brought the annual increase to just 5.5% - its lowest since August 1996 - from 7% in April and double-digit rates last year.
Nationwide said the average home cost £157,272 sterling in May and that the latest figures were consistent with its view the market was cooling gradually.
'The consensus is now that interest rates have peaked,' Nationwide said. 'But this does not suggest that the market will pick up again rapidly, rather that it will continue on its gently cooling path,' it added.
