UK house price growth slowed sharply in September as higher mortgage interest rates and wider economic uncertainty damped demand, according to data from lender Nationwide.
The building society said the average price of a British home fell to £274,251 in September, representing a 0.2% decline from August and a year‑on‑year rise of 0.8%. That annual rate is half the pace recorded in August, when prices were 1.6% higher than a year earlier.
Nationwide noted the September result was the slowest annual rate of growth since December of last year. The lender and other market observers have pointed to rising mortgage costs and geopolitical uncertainty, including conflict in the Middle East, as factors that have continued to put some prospective buyers off entering the market.
The monthly fall and the marked slowdown in annual growth highlight a cooling in the housing market after periods of stronger price gains. Nationwide's index is one of several gauges used to track UK property trends and is closely watched by policymakers and industry participants for signs of shifting momentum.