House prices in Britain increased last month at the weakest annual rate since January, although there are signs that market demand is beginning to strengthen, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.
House prices increased 4.4 per cent compared with a year earlier, down from growth of 4.6 per cent in October, Nationwide said. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected house price growth to remain steady at 4.6 per cent.
In November alone, house prices edged up 0.1 per cent, in line with expectations.
"There are some signs that, despite the uncertain economic outlook, demand conditions have strengthened a little in recent months, reflecting the impact of solid labour market conditions and historically low borrowing costs," said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist.
– (Reuters)
