HOUSE PRICES FALLING MORE SLOWLY

The Land Registry said house prices dropped by only 0.4% during March, the lowest monthly fall for 11 months, while the annual rate of declined eased from a record 16.6% to 16.2%.

Nationwide also reported a slight decrease in year-on-year price falls, with these running at 15% in April, down from 15.7% in March.

But the Nationwide index, which covers the whole of the UK, reported a price fall of 0.4% for April itself, wiping out some of the 0.9% gain seen in March.

Figures from the Land Registry, which only include England and Wales, also showed sales volumes continued to decline during January, the latest month for which figures are available.

The number of homes changing hands dropped to 24,770 during the month, down from 36,341 in December, although some of the fall is likely to represent the seasonal slowdown around Christmas. Sales levels are now 57% lower than they were in January last year.

The Land Registry data showed a mixed pattern across the regions, with the North East seeing prices rise by 1.8% in March, while in the South West they rose by 1.1%.

Wales and London also saw monthly price rises of 1% and 0.6% respectively.

But at the other end of the scale, property lost a further 2% of its value in the West Midlands, with prices dropping by 1.6% in the East and falling by 1.4% in both Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East.

Nationwide surprised economists by reporting the first house price rise for 16 months in March, marking the start of a run of positive data on the market. Last week the Council of Mortgage Lenders said lending rose by 16% during the month, and HM Revenue and Customs publishing figures showing the number of homes changing hands soared by 40% in March.