British house prices barely budged last month following a jump in March, the Nationwide Building Society said this morning. Nationwide predicted that property price growth would probably slow further over the rest of 2006.
The lender said prices were up only 0.1% in April, after a 1.1% rise the month before. The annual rate dropped back to 4.8% in April from a 10-month high of 5.3% in March.
Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's group economist, said April's slowdown was no surprise given March's jump. She noted that demand conditions remained firm but that activity would fall towards its longer term average over coming months.
She said higher petrol prices, soaring utility bills and rising unemployment would all hit already battered consumer confidence.
