House price growth remained “sluggish” in February, according to the Nationwide Building Society’s latest survey of the property market.
The lender said prices were up by 0.4% compared with a year earlier, which was a faster pace than January’s rate of 0.1%.
The Nationwide said that prices in February dipped by 0.1% compared with a month before, with the average property costing £211,304.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Indicators of housing market activity, such as the number of property transactions and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, have remained broadly stable in recent months, but survey data suggests that sentiment has softened.
“Measures of consumer confidence weakened around the turn of the year and surveyors reported a further fall in new buyer enquiries over the same period.
“While the number of properties coming onto the market also slowed, this doesn’t appear to have been enough to prevent a modest shift in the balance of demand and supply in favour of buyers in recent months.”
