A reading of a closely watched housing measure, calculated by Nationwide, showed a drop of 0.2% in market valuations for May, the biggest drop in five months, together with a negative revision of 0.1 percentage points for the previous month's increase, landing it at 0.3%. The pace of price growth in the United Kingdom weakened to 0.6%, the smallest 12-month gain since February, from 0.9%. The reading was the lowest since July 2012.
The average price of a home, measured in absolute terms, slipped marginally to £214,946, the weakest level since March, and the annual rate has been below 1% for the past half year. "New buyer enquiries and consumer confidence have remained subdued... While healthy labour market conditions and low borrowing costs will provide underlying support, uncertainty is likely to continue to act as a drag on sentiment and activity," chief economist Robert Gardner said. The number of first time buyers has been on the rise and low interest rates have underpinned the market, excluding London, he added.
The rolling three-month rise in the index came in at 0.3% this month, after no change for April.