House prices suffer biggest fall in 14 years

House prices fell at the fastest rate in 14 years last month, according to the latest figures from Nationwide. There was a 3.1% drop in March, which is the largest annual reduction since July 2009. Statistics for March show a 0.8% fall from the previous month, which is the seventh monthly drop in a month, and prices are now 4.6% lower than the peak last August. Regional figures show the West Midlands was the strongest performing region in the first quarter, up 1.4%, while Scotland remained the weakest with a 3.1% fall, the Nationwide House Price Index shows. Nine out of 13 regions recorded annual house price declines in Q1. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, says: “The housing market reached a turning point last year as a result of the financial market turbulence which followed the Mini-Budget. “Since then, activity has remained subdued – the number of mortgages approved for house purchase remained weak at 43,500 cases in February, almost 40% below the level prevailing a year ago. “It will be hard for the market to regain much momentum in the near term since consumer confidence remains weak and household budgets remain under pressure from high inflation. “Housing affordability also…