There was little fluctuation in residential real estate values in the UK over the course of September, the latest figures in the Nationwide House Price Index have revealed. According to the data, there was a month-on-month rise of 0.1 per cent, although values dropped marginally - falling by 0.3 per cent - on an annual basis. Chief economist at the financial institution Robert Gardner noted that property prices have remained relatively stable since last summer, due to subdued demand from buyers.
Looking ahead, he stated that there are greater downside risks than before, largely due to the fragility of the European and global economies. "Providing the UK recovery gradually gathers momentum in the months ahead, we continue to expect house prices to move sideways or drift modestly lower over the remainder of 2011 and into 2012," Mr Gardner predicted.
However, data published recently by the Land Registry recorded a larger annual decrease in prices than the Nationwide index. According to the government agency, values dropped by 2.6 per cent between August 2011 and the same month a year earlier, while a month-on-month fall of 0.3 per cent was noted between July and August this year.