House prices continue to fall

It's that time of the month again; Natiowides HPI, with their data from May -

Nationwide's Robert Gardner comments:

“House prices recorded their third consecutive monthly fall in May – the first time this has occurred since 2009. The annual rate of growth slowed to 2.1%, the weakest in almost four years.

It is still early days, but this provides further evidence that the housing market is losing momentum. Moreover, this may be indicative of a wider slowdown in the household sector, though data continues to send mixed signals in this regard.

While real incomes are again coming under pressure as inflation has overtaken wage growth, the number of people in work has continued to rise at a healthy pace. Indeed, the unemployment rate fell to a 42-year low in the three months to March.

If history is any guide, the slowdown is unlikely to be linked to election-related uncertainty. Housing market trends have not traditionally been impacted around the time of general elections. Rightly or wrongly, for most home buyers, elections are not foremost in their minds while buying or selling their home."

As for where's next -

“It is too early to conclude whether the slowdown in house price growth is merely a blip, a reflection of the impact of the squeeze on household budgets, or is due to mounting affordability pressures in key areas of the country. 

Given the ongoing uncertainties around the UK’s future trading arrangements and the upcoming election, the economic outlook is unusually uncertain, and housing market trends will depend crucially on developments in the wider economy. 

Nevertheless, in our view, household spending is likely to slow in the quarters ahead, along with the wider economy, as rising inflation increases the squeeze on household budgets. This, together with mounting housing affordability pressures, is likely to exert a drag on activity and house price growth in the quarters ahead. 

However, the subdued level of building activity and the shortage of properties on the market are likely to provide support for prices. As a result, we continue to believe that a small increase in house prices of around 2% is likely over the course of 2017 as a whole.” 

House prices show longest sustained fall since 2009 crash https://t.co/rHa9baenEq

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) June 1, 2017

U.K. house prices fall for third month in a row for first time since financial crisis https://t.co/8UftG8cZ6p #property via @guardian

— NorthwoodUK (@northwooduk) June 1, 2017

House prices have fallen for three months for the first time since 2009 https://t.co/CU11ghBb0g via @CityAM

— Anna White (@Twinwag) June 1, 2017

UK house prices are now in their worst slump since the 2009 crash https://t.co/1j31YS35nP

— Indy Business (@TheIndyBusiness) June 1, 2017

House price growth slowest since 2009  https://t.co/gsxN9KkwXb

— FTAdviser (@FTAdviser) June 1, 2017

British house prices have fallen for three consecutive months for the first time since 2009 https://t.co/oO60x2eCfq pic.twitter.com/galw9KRfCc

— Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) June 1, 2017

Housing market is losing momentum: Nationwidehttps://t.co/yGfeM4T9re

— Mortgage Strategy (@MortgageStrat) June 1, 2017

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