Nine out of 13 UK regions saw annual price falls in the second quarter of the year, with Northern Ireland seeing the largest price falls, according to Nationwide Building Society. The lender added that research shows the North/South divide is persisting for English house price performance.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said:
“Average house prices in the UK fell by 1.0 per cent in the second quarter of the year, after allowing for usual seasonal effects. Prices were down 1.1 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2011.
“London saw the strongest quarterly growth rate, with prices up 1.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Whilst the annual rate of growth moderated a little from 2.3 per cent to 1.2 per cent, average prices in the capital have now virtually recovered to their 2007 peak.
“The north/south divide amongst the English regions continued in Q2, with house price growth in southern England (South West, Outer South East, Outer Metropolitan, London and East Anglia) exceeding that of northern England (West Midlands, East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humberside, North West and North) for the thirtieth consecutive quarter. The North West was the worst performing English region, with prices down 4.1 per cent year-on-year.
“Scotland was the worst performing area on a quarterly basis, with prices falling 2.0 per cent during the second quarter. This pushed the annual rate of change down to -2.3 per cent.
“Wales saw a third successive quarter of price falls, with a seasonally adjusted fall of 1.1 per cent in Q2. On an annual basis, prices were down 5.3 per cent compared with 2011.
“Northern Ireland continued to see price falls, with average prices down 10.6 per cent year-on-year.
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