UK house-price growth slows to 0.5% in October

UK house-price growth slowed to 0.5% in the year to October, its weakest annual pace since January 2024, according to Nationwide’s monthly index. Prices were unchanged from September, when the index recorded a revised 0.3% monthly fall. The annual growth rate was down from 0.8% in September and 1.6% in August. It also came in below the 0.6% median forecast in an economists’ poll. The October monthly result was stronger than the forecast decline of 0.1%. Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said higher market interest rates had dampened buyer appetite. He said conflict in the Middle East was putting upward pressure on energy prices and inflation concerns, contributing to rising market expectations of increases in the Bank of England’s Bank Rate. Gardner forecast further softness in house prices in the near term. Separate mortgage data from the Bank of England showed approvals for house purchases fell in September to their lowest level since December 2023. The figures indicate weaker activity, although they do not establish how much of the fall was caused by borrowing costs or other factors. The Bank of England had kept interest rates unchanged through the period covered by...