House prices tumble says Nationwide

The drop means the annualised rate of house price inflation has fallen to 7.9%, the first time it has been below 10% since June 2001. Seasonal adjustments mean the nominal average price recorded actually increased by £1,000 in Nationwide’s index for March, taking the average house price to £153,876, while mortgage approvals are predicted to have rebounded to 84,000 in the month. The lender says the rest of 2005 is likely to be marked by additional monthly swings between gains and falls in house prices. Nationwide has not changed its full year expectation for house prices to rise betwe...