UK house prices fell in March at the fastest annual pace since July 2009, according to figures released on Friday by Nationwide.
House prices were down 3.1% on the year following a 1.1% decline in February.
On the month, prices fell 0.8% in March following a 0.5% drop the month before. This marked the seventh decline in a row and leaves prices 4.6% below their August peak.
The data showed that house price growth slowed across all UK regions. The West Midlands was the strongest performing region, with prices up 1.4% on the year, while Scotland remained the weakest performer, with prices down 3.1%.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: “The housing market reached a turning point last year as a result of the financial market turbulence which followed the mini-Budget. Since then, activity has remained subdued – the number of mortgages approved for house purchase remained weak at 43,500 cases in February, almost 40% below the level prevailing a year ago.
“It will be hard for the market to regain much momentum in the near term since consumer confidence remains weak and household budgets remain under pressure from high inflation. Housing affordability also remains stretched, where mortgage rates remain well above the lows prevailing at this point last year.”
