British house prices fall 0.5%

British house prices fell in February for the fourth consecutive month to take annual growth to its lowest in over two years, according to a survey.

In its monthly survey of the housing market, the Nationwide Building Society said house prices fell by 0.5 per cent in February from January, well below analysts' forecasts for a smaller drop of 0.1 per cent.

This takes the annual rate of house price growth down to 2.7 per cent from 4.2 per cent in December, the slowest rate of growth since November 2005 and bringing the average cost of a house in the UK to $179,358 sterling.

Nationwide also agrees with the suggestions in the latest Bank of England inflation report that the outlook for the UK economy is more likely to be one of slower economic growth rather than recession, a factor which should help support the housing market.