House prices UK: 2024 sold property prices fall further after second consecutive monthly decline - Nationwide

The average UK house price decreased for the second consecutive month in April, according to an index - property values are now about 4% below their all-time highs.

Following a 0.2% decline in March, UK property prices fell by 0.4% month-on-month in April, Nationwide Building Society said.

The annual growth rate of house prices fell in April to 0.6% from 1.6% in March, a more than 50% decrease. The average price of a house in the UK was £261,962 in April.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said the slowdown “likely reflects ongoing affordability pressures”. He said: “House prices are now around 4% below the all-time highs recorded in the summer of 2022, after taking account of seasonal effects.”

Recent research by Censuswide on behalf of Nationwide indicated that nearly half (49%) of prospective first-time buyers looking to buy in the next five years have delayed their plans over the past year.

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Gardner continued: “Buying a property in a less expensive area appears to be the most common compromise that prospective buyers will make.

“Around a third (32%) said they would consider a smaller property than they wanted, while 28% would go for a property that needed work doing.

“Amongst recent first-time buyers (those who have bought their first home in the past five years), 38% said they ended up compromising on the property they purchased.”

Read more: Cost of flats and small homes increasing faster than bigger properties

Sam Mitchell, chief executive of Purplebricks, said there is still positive sentiment from buyers and “we are seeing viewing activity increase, signalling stability in the housing market.

He added: “While several banks have slightly increased mortgage rates, there has also been an increase in new market offerings, both have sparked buyers into action which has resulted in more sales.”

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at estate agent Knight Frank, said there are added financial pressures in the system as a wave of owners roll off sub-2% mortgages agreed in early 2022.

“We believe demand and house price growth will pick up later this year as a rate cut moves on to the horizon,” he added.

Nicky Stevenson, managing director at Fine & Country, said: “The property market remains highly changeable, with prices up slightly one month then falling back the next.

“Although demand continues to pick up nicely with mortgage approvals rising, the economy remains in a fragile position.”

The number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers jumped in March to the highest level since September 2022, according to Bank of England figures.

In an indication of property sales to come, mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 60,500 in February to 61,300 in March. It was the highest total since more than 65,300 mortgages for house purchase got the green light in September 2022.

Approvals for remortgaging decreased from 37,700 to 34,200 over the same period, according to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit report.

The report was released as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures showed that home sales across the UK increased for the third month in a row in March.