2Oct
Long-term housing prospects 'remain strong'
Nationwide Building Society has said that the long-term prospects
for the UK housing market remain positive.
The lender made the comments despite recording a 1.7 per cent fall
in house prices across the UK in September in its latest
index.
It said that the recent "turmoil" in the financial markets meant
that it was "not surprising" that prices dropped during last
month.
While this is not about to change imminently, however, the longer
term prospect remains "more sound", it stated.
Nationwide chief economist Fionnuala Earley also suggested that the
rate of price falls may suggest some "stabilisation" in the trend
and noted that for some people lower prices would be good news, as
this will mean greater affordability.
The lender also produced figures for the third quarter of 2008,
which showed that prices in the north of England are performing
better than those in the south for the first time since 2005, as
the three northern English regions displayed the smallest price
drops.
Such a trend echoes the findings of the August Land Registry
figures, which revealed the largest house price falls occurring in
the southern and eastern parts of England, while the north-west saw
a 1.2 per cent price rise.
