House prices fell for the first time in five months in February as the property market slowed more sharply than expected, according to figures from Nationwide.
The rise in home-loan approvals in December had left some economists expecting a pick-up in the new year. However, house prices defied those expectations, coming in below the 0.3 per cent rise expected to fall 0.1 per cent compared with January.
On an annual basis, house price growth slowed for the sixth consecutive month to 5.7 per cent in February - the slowest growth rate since September 2013.
Britain’s housing market has been cooling since the middle of last year with tightening rules on mortgage lending brought in by regulators.
Economists from Nationwide said the underlying economics of the