House price growth falls as buyers 'wait and see'

UK house price growth has fallen month-on-month in October, according to figures from Nationwide Building Society, as experts said budget uncertainty and a cooling jobs market is weighing on buyer confidence.

- HOLLY WILLIAMS

Swindon-based Nationwide said UK house price growth fell month-on-month in October to 0.3% from 0.5% in September.

Property values lifted 2.4% on an annual basis, up from 2.2% year-on-year growth last month, taking the average UK house price to £272,226 in October, according to the lender.

Nationwide said the market remained "broadly stable".

But experts said buyers are taking a “wait-and-see” approach ahead of the budget, amid mounting speculation over upcoming changes to property taxes, while wider economic worries and a weakening labour market is also holding the market back.

Elliott Jordan-Doak, a senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said house prices have remained subdued but are likely to continue rising slowly over the coming months.

He said: “We think that some homebuyers are taking a wait-and-see approach to the budget, which is weighing slightly on sentiment in the market.”

He added: “But the activity indicators holding up better than their survey-based signals suggests to us that demand remains robust.