UK house prices increased by 0.3 per cent in August, on a seasonally adjusted basis, though the annual pace of house price growth edged down to 3.2 per cent from 3.5 per cent in July.
The average price of a property stood at £195,279 this month, down from £195,621 in July.
But Nationwide noted that house prices increased 0.3 per cent month-on-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a spokesman explaining house prices are “slightly seasonal - that is, prices are higher at certain times of year irrespective of the overall trend”.
He added: “This tends to be in spring and summer, when more buyers are in the market and hence sellers do not need to discount prices so heavily, in order to achieve a sale.
“The effect on prices over the year is of the order of plus or minus 1.5 per cent; however this is much smaller than the change in volume of property transactions; the seasonal effect is estimated each month using established statistical methods.”
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said annual price growth was subdued since prices increased at a particularly strong rate in August 2014.
“This month’s data provides further evidence that annual house price growth may be stabilising close to the pace of earnings growth, which has historically been around 4 per cent.
“However, survey evidence cautions that this trend may not be maintained unless construction activity accelerates. Surveyors reported the lowest ever number of properties on their books in July (on data extending back to the late 1970s) while new buyer enquiries picked up.”
Alex Gosling, chief executive of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, said any hope that sellers were finally returning to the market seems to have been a vain one for the time being.
He said that the general election, which the market hoped would provide a catalyst for sellers, is long gone and property stock numbers remain well below normal levels. “The next few months are going to be important as the property market looks to gather momentum heading into the last quarter of the year.
Mr Gosling added: “We fully expected activity to drop off in the summer months, but come the Autumn the market needs to replenished with stock to realign the supply versus demand balance.”
emma.hughes@ft.com
