U.K. House-Price Growth Loses Pace as Market Remains `Subdued'

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. house-price gains slowed in July, dropping back below 3 percent again in what Nationwide Building Society says is a “subdued” market.

The 2.9 percent annual increase followed a 3.1 percent gain in June. On the month, prices rose 0.3 percent to an average of 211,671 pounds ($280,000).

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said while the relative stabilization in July “appears at odds with recent signs of cooling” -- transactions and demand have weakened -- values continue to get support from a lack of homes on the market.

The overall trend remains one of a slowdown. Mortgage approvals fell to a nine-month low in June, and Nationwide's annual house-price measure has dropped from more than 10 percent in 2014. It said that the economy's sharp slowdown this year and the supply-demand imbalance will determine the performance for the rest of 2017.

It continues to expect values to rise about 2 percent this year. “Housing market activity is likely to remain subdued, with the balance in the market shifting a little further towards buyers in the quarters ahead,” Gardner said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in London at fobrien@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint