House prices fall in England for first time since 2012

House prices in England recorded their first fall in seven years in the first three months of 2019, according to Nationwide building society.

Nationwide’s latest House Price Index reported that in the first three months of 2019 house prices in England dipped by 0.7% compared with the same period a year ago, dragged down by a London market that saw prices slump by nearly 4%.

Overall annual house price growth rose 0.7% in the month of March, year-on-year.

Consumer confidence had weakened at the start of 2019, Nationwide said, with surveyors reporting that new buyer enquiries had continued to fall, down to their lowest level since 2008 in February.

The rate of house price decline seen in London was the fastest in a decade. It was the seventh consecutive month where prices have fallen in the capital, Nationwide said.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said the downward trend in London was not “entirely unexpected”, thanks to several years of outperformance.

Plus changes to the rules governing buy-to-let had created more of a drag in the capital, “given that the private rental sector accounts for a larger proportion of the housing stock than elsewhere in the country”.

Northern Ireland was the strongest-performing home nation, although year-on-year growth slowed from last quarter’s 5.8% to 3.3%.

Growth in Wales slowed dramatically from 4% last quarter to 0.9%, while Scotland saw a 2.4% increase.