House prices drift: up 0.2% on the month, 1.6% on the year
Nationwide puts the average home at about £275,465, with growth subdued through the summer.
House prices rose 0.2% in August, leaving annual growth at a subdued 1.6%, according to Nationwide's index. The average home now costs about £275,465.
Growth well below the pace of wages means housing is very slowly becoming more affordable in real terms — the gentlest form of correction, and probably the one policymakers would choose.
The backdrop is a Bank Rate that has been held at 3.75% since July. Mortgage pricing has stabilised rather than fallen, and the market is behaving accordingly: no slump, no take-off.
With the labour market softening but employment still high, the conditions for either a sharp fall or a sharp rise in prices are absent. Expect more months like this one.