Investing.com – U.K. house prices fell unexpectedly in April, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, U.K. mortgage lender Nationwide said its house price index fell by a seasonally adjusted -0.2% in April, after rising by 0.5% in March.
Analysts had expected the house price index to rise by 0.1% in April.
The report showed that year-over-year, home prices in the U.K. fell at an annualized rate of -1.3% in April, after rising at a rate of 0.1% in March. Analysts had expected year-on-year home prices to decline at an annualized rate of -0.7% in April.
The three month on three month measure of house prices, a better measure of the underlying trend, showed a modest rise of 0.6%.
Commenting on the report, Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said, “Since November 2010 house prices have increased in three months and fallen in three months. However, it is not unusual to see a pattern of modest monthly increases and decreases when the market is fairly static, as has been the case since last summer.”
“There is still little evidence to suggest that price declines will accelerate in the months ahead,” he added.
Following the release of the data, the pound was down against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.15% to hit 1.6461.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a drop of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures slipped 0.12%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.14%, while Germany's DAX futures eased down 0.07%.
In a report, U.K. mortgage lender Nationwide said its house price index fell by a seasonally adjusted -0.2% in April, after rising by 0.5% in March.
Analysts had expected the house price index to rise by 0.1% in April.
The report showed that year-over-year, home prices in the U.K. fell at an annualized rate of -1.3% in April, after rising at a rate of 0.1% in March. Analysts had expected year-on-year home prices to decline at an annualized rate of -0.7% in April.
The three month on three month measure of house prices, a better measure of the underlying trend, showed a modest rise of 0.6%.
Commenting on the report, Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner said, “Since November 2010 house prices have increased in three months and fallen in three months. However, it is not unusual to see a pattern of modest monthly increases and decreases when the market is fairly static, as has been the case since last summer.”
“There is still little evidence to suggest that price declines will accelerate in the months ahead,” he added.
Following the release of the data, the pound was down against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.15% to hit 1.6461.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was downbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a drop of 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 futures slipped 0.12%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.14%, while Germany's DAX futures eased down 0.07%.