House Prices Fall As Lenders Raise Mortgage Rates
House prices fell in April as potential buyers continued to face pressure on affordability, according to the Nationwide.
The UK's biggest building society said that UK house prices were down by 0.4% compared with the previous month.
It said the average home cost £261,962, some 4% below the peak in the summer of 2022.
The rising cost of borrowing was key to the latest fall in prices, it said.
The figures come after a string of lenders raised rates on new fixed-rate mortgage deals in recent days.
The increases were prompted by expectations of fewer and slower interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.
The Halifax is the latest lender to announce higher rates, with a plan to put up the cost of much of its mortgage range by 0.2 percentage points on Thursday.
The Nationwide said that potential first-time buyers were being put off their plans to purchase a property owing to high house prices and the high cost of borrowing.
Its survey suggested that about half of those considering buying a first home in the five years, had delayed their plans over the last year.