Brian Murphy Head of Lending for Mortgage Advice Bureau comments:
“The report issued by the Nationwide this morning is based on lending for house purchases at post survey approvals stage, so provides us with a significant bellwether in terms of the UK housing market over the last month from one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders.
This morning’s figures suggest that whilst there has been a small month on month decrease in terms of values, average annual growth figures are still in positive territory, and within the spectrum that was suggested at the beginning of the year for 2018. So in some respects, the market is continuing to perform within expectations. That said, conditions are becoming increasingly fragmented, with more granular housing data from other sources pointing to some areas seeing significant price increases as a result of lack of stock and strong buyer demand, and other conurbations seeing a similar lack of properties coupled with fewer levels of buyers, meaning that values are stagnating or, in some cases, moving into reverse gear.
The lacklustre Spring market in some towns and cities has highlighted that discretionary movers are few and far between in the current climate, with recent figures from UK Finance also suggesting that Buy To Let purchase borrowing has also seen a significant reduction in recent months. However, the fact that we’re still seeing an increase in annual growth – albeit modest - and that transaction levels are ticking over at a reasonably consistent level do suggest that, whilst the fizz may have gone out of the market in some parts of the UK, realistically priced homes are still very much in demand.”