House prices rise, slowly

The UK's housing market experienced its second consecutive month of subdued growth in September.

11:51 30 September 2004

The UK's housing market experienced its second consecutive month of subdued growth in September, according to the latest survey from Nationwide.

The high street lender revealed that house prices rose by just 0.2 per cent compared with 0.1 per cent last month.

House prices are still significantly higher than this time last year with the average price sitting at just under 154,000.

The news will however come as a further blow to homeowners, who have seen market conditions deteriorating and mortgage rates rising.

While most analysts expect to see the base rate stay on hold next week, concern about the housing market is putting buyers off.

"Activity is set to remain at lower levels over coming months as home purchasers continue to adopt a cautious approach," the Nationwide's Alex Bannister noted.

Nationwide also revealed that homeowners looking to trade up face the most difficult conditions - with higher interest rates and fewer buyers in the market - for a decade.