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Softer housing market weighs on key sector

THE UK construction sector showed only marginal growth in February amid “entrenched political uncertainty”, as a soft patch for housebuilding continued and civil engineering activity fell, a key survey shows.

Commercial property construction was the bright spot in the sector, recording its fastest increase in activity since May last year.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply’s purchasing managers’ index edged up from 50.2 in January to 51.4 last month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

This took it further above the level of 50 deemed to separate expansion from contraction but the February reading nevertheless signals only slight growth.

The UK construction sector’s new business volumes fell in February, the survey shows.

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club think-tank, said: “The purchasing managers’ survey indicates that the construction sector is having a lacklustre start to 2018.”

He added: “February’s reading was still only slightly above the 50 level that indicates flat activity.”

Tim Moore, associate director at IHS Markit and author of the construction survey, said: “The construction sector endured another difficult month during February, with fragile business confidence, entrenched political uncertainty and softer housing market conditions all factors keeping growth in the slow lane.

“Residential work appears on track to experience its weakest quarter since Q3 2016, suggesting that housebuilding is losing its status as the main engine of construction growth.”

Source: Herald Scotland

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Economic Calendar – Top 5 Things to Watch This Week

Global financial markets will focus on this week’s European Central Bank meeting for further details on when the central bank plans to end its massive economic stimulus program.

Staying on the central bank front, traders will pay close attention to a monetary policy decision from the Bank of Japan for hints on when it will start withdrawing stimulus.

Meanwhile, investors will keep an eye on the monthly U.S. employment report to gauge how it will impact the Federal Reserve’s view on monetary policy in the months ahead.

Elsewhere, in the UK, investors will focus on a report on activity in the dominant services sector for further indications on the health of the economy and the likelihood of the Bank of England raising interest rates this year.

Market participants will also be looking ahead to monthly trade figures out of China amid recent signs that momentum in the world’s second largest economy remains strong.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the five biggest events on the economic calendar that are most likely to affect the markets.

1. European Central Bank Policy Meeting

The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates at their current record low levels and make no changes to its guidance on future policy when it holds its second meeting of the year at 1245GMT (7:45AM ET) on Thursday.

President Mario Draghi will hold what will be a closely-watched press conference 45 minutes after the rate announcement. How he views signs of undershooting inflation and any clues on when the central bank plans to end its €2.5 trillion stimulus program will be important.

Concerned about recent market turbulence, the strong euro and a dip in both headline and underlying inflation, officials prefer waiting, perhaps as late as the summer, before starting to signal the end of asset buys, three sources with direct knowledge of the discussion said last week.

The ECB will also unveil new macroeconomic projections, but sources familiar with the matter said they are unlikely to offer many surprises as growth and inflation are broadly on the same path as before.

The central bank cut its monthly bond purchases from €60 billion to €30 billion back in October, but extended the program until the end of September 2018, citing muted price pressures.

The euro-area economy is undergoing its broadest expansion in a decade. Yet inflation pressures remain feeble, with the headline rate falling last month to the lowest since 2016, underlining the ECB’s caution in removing stimulus.

Results of Sunday’s Italian general election as well as political developments in Germany will also be on the agenda.

2. BOJ Policy Announcement

The Bank of Japan is also seen keeping policy on hold at the conclusion of its two-day rate review on Friday, including a pledge to keep short-term interest rates at minus 0.1%, while painting a slightly better picture of the economy.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a press conference afterward to discuss the decision. His comments will be monitored closely for any new insight on his views on inflation and how that can affect its current stimulus policies.

Investors will also be watching for comments on the yen, in light of its recent surge against the dollar.

There have been some indications recently that the central bank is setting the ground to begin discussions on winding back its quantitative easing program thanks to an improving economic outlook and hints of rising inflation.

Japan’s economy, the world’s third-largest, marked eight straight quarters of expansion in October-December, its longest such run since a 12-quarter stretch of growth during the 1980s boom years.

3. U.S. Employment Report

The U.S. Labor Department will release the nonfarm payrolls report for February at 8:30AM ET (1330GMT) on Friday, and it will be watched more for what it says about wages than hiring.

The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 204,000, after adding 200,000 positions in January, while the unemployment rate is forecast to dip to a 17-year low of 4.0% from 4.1%.

Most of the focus will likely be on average hourly earnings figures, which are expected to rise 0.3%, following a similar gain a month earlier. On an annualized basis, wages are forecast to increase 2.9%, slowing slightly from 2.9% in January, which was the largest annual gain in more than 8-1/2 years.

A pickup in wages could be an early sign for higher inflation, supporting the case for higher interest rates in the months ahead.

This week’s calendar also features the ADP private sector nonfarm payrolls report and the ISM non-manufacturing survey.

Besides the data, markets will also be paying close attention to comments from a few Fed speakers this week for their views on the recent uptick in inflation and how that can affect monetary policy. Topping the agenda will be remarks from influential New York Fed boss William Dudley as well as Fed Governor Lael Brainard, a known dove.

In his first congressional hearing as head of the Fed last week, Jerome Powell vowed to prevent the economy from overheating, while sticking with a plan to gradually raise interest rates. Those comments fueled speculation in equity markets over U.S. monetary tightening this year happening faster than expected.

Indeed, many economists have started to forecast four rate hikes this year, compared to the three the Fed currently predicts.

The Fed is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on March. 20-21, with interest rate futures pricing in an 85% chance of a rate hike at that meeting, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, retailers such as Target (NYSE:TGT), Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) report results, as do a number of smaller chain stores, in what will be the last busy week of earnings season.

Elsewhere, news out of Washington D.C. is expected to keep investors on their toes, after President Donald Trump announced plans to slap tariffs on aluminum and steel late last week. He kept up pressure on trading partners on Saturday, threatening European automakers with a tax on imports.

4. UK Services PMI

A survey on Britain’s giant services sector due at 0930GMT (4:30AM ET) on Monday is forecast to inch up to 53.3 from the previous month’s reading of 53.0.

While Britain’s economy is lagging behind the global recovery, it has held up better than the gloomy forecasts made at the time of the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.

The Bank of England kept interest rates steady last month, but signaled it was likely to raise rates sooner and by more than it thought a few months ago as it seeks to keep a grip on inflation.

Politics is also likely to be in focus, especially with the Brexit negotiations entering a key phase. Prime Minister Theresa May urged the European Union on Friday to show more flexibility in talks on future ties, saying Britain was ready to swallow the “hard facts” of Brexit but did not believe they prevented a successful trade deal.

5. China Trade Figures

China is to release February trade figures at around 0300GMT on Thursday.

Exports are forecast to have climbed 13.9% from a year earlier, following a gain of 11.1% in the preceding month, while imports are expected to rise 9.7%, after soaring 36.9% in January.

Additionally, on Friday, the Asian nation will publish data on February consumer and producer price inflation. The reports are expected to show that consumer prices rose 2.4% last month, while producer prices are forecast to increase by 3.8%.

China’s economy grew 6.8% in the fourth-quarter from a year earlier, helped by a rebound in the industrial sector, a resilient property market and strong export growth.

China’s annual two-week long National People’s Congress commencing on Monday will also grab some attention. The political meeting is used by leaders to set policies for the year and detail plans to curb financial risk, air pollution, and excess industrial capacity.

Investors will also want to see how the world’s largest steel producer might react to Trump’s plans to impose heavy import tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Stay up-to-date on all of this week’s economic events by visiting: http://www.investing.com/economic-calendar/

Source: Investing

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‘Nimby’ councils face new sanctions for failing to meet home-building targets

‘Nimby’ councils which fail to build enough homes will be stripped of the right to decide where new houses are placed in their area under plans to be launched by Theresa May on Monday.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid warned local authorities he would be “breathing down your neck every day and night” to ensure home-building targets are met.

An overhaul of planning laws will see the creation of new rules to give councils targets for how many homes they should build each year, taking into account local house prices, wages and the number of “key workers” like nurses, teachers and police officers in the area.

Higher targets will be set for areas with higher “unaffordability ratios”, Mr Javid told the Sunday Times.

If councils fail to deliver on the target they will be stripped of planning powers with independent inspectors taking over.

We are going to be breathing down your neck day and night to make sure you are actually delivering on those numbers

Sajid Javid to councils

The Prime Minister has made housing a key domestic priority as more young people struggle to get on the property ladder.

Mr Javid told the newspaper: “We have a housing crisis in this country.

“We need a housing revolution. The new rules will no longer allow nimby councils that don’t really want to build the homes that their local community needs to fudge the numbers.”

He told councils: “We are going to be breathing down your neck day and night to make sure you are actually delivering on those numbers.”

The Housing Secretary added: “At the moment there is nothing in the system that checks to see they are actually delivering.

“There’s no comeback or sanction and that is going to change.”

Mr Javid said homes would not be built on green belt but any area outside “naturally protected land” would be free for construction.

He also revealed plans to build new towns between Oxford and Cambridge.

“Along that corridor there’s an opportunity to build at least four or five garden towns and villages with thousands of homes,” he said.

And he said rules will be relaxed for homeowners who want to add storeys to their houses.

Mr Javid said “the density of London is less than half that of Paris. We don’t want London to end up like Hong Kong.”

But he called for more “mansion blocks, the kind you might see in Kensington and Chelsea”.

“It will be quite surprising how easy we want to make it for people who want to build upwards,” he said.

Source: BT.com

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500 council homes to be built across Sandwell

Five hundred new council homes will be built in a borough over the next three years as part of a major investment to boost the housing stock.

Sandwell Council will embark on one of the biggest council house building projects in years in a bid to tackle its growing waiting list.

Bosses said housing was among their main priorities, with £70 million to be ploughed into new developments until 2021.

Extensions to existing council properties are also planned.

CCTV could also be rolled out at high-rise blocks as part of the improvements in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour.

The authority is also planning to create hundreds of school places over the coming years to deal with the borough’s rising population.

Some council house projects are already in the pipeline, including plans for 63 properties in Strathmore Road and Henn Street, Tipton, and another 50 in Friar Park, Wednesbury.

Wednesbury councillor Peter Hughes said the housebuilding programme was a signal of the council’s intent to improve living standards.

He said: “It has been decades since local authorities have built to the extent that we are.

“Sandwell is probably leading the way in terms of local authority social house building.

“There is a massive need for social housing. As a former housing manager myself I’m very much in favour of seeing house building take place. A lot of local authorities haven’t done it for some time.”

Councillor Hughes said despite the huge outlay on creating new homes, it would also prove beneficial for the council.

He said: “We will get an increase in council tax and we will also get the new homes bonus coming in which is quite substantial.”

The house building drive comes after councillors gave the green light to plans that will see around £52 million spent on external improvements to 13 high-rise blocks across Oldbury, Rowley Regis and West Bromwich starting this year.

First in line is Alfred Gunn House in Oldbury, with improvements also planned for Darley House, Moorlands Court, St Giles Court, Addenbrooke Court and Wesley Court in Rowley Regis; Heronville House, Paget House and Wyrley House in Oldbury and Holly Court, Oak Court, Allen House and Boulton House in West Bromwich.

Source: Express and Star

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‘Gentrification’ makes Glasgow property market most buoyant in Scotland

Glasgow can boast the most buoyant housing market in Scotland and some of the quickest sales turnaround times in the UK, according to property experts.

The healthy state of the market has been put down to a series of property hot-spots and the continued “gentrification” of the east end of the city. Glasgow is said to be seeing consistently strong demand, despite the squeeze on household budgets and the prospect of further monetary tightening, with buyers prepared to pay prices “significantly above” Home Report valuations.

Releasing new figures, estate agency Walker Wylie said it had seen a 37 per cent rise in sales in 2017. Its average sales time of 23 days – around a third of the national average – also suggests that Glasgow is among the fastest property markets in the UK.

The area of highest growth for the firm has been the east end of the city where sales grew by 65 per cent in the 12 months to February. Other high-performing areas included the southside, where sales leapt 58 per cent, and the west end where the firm recorded a 41 per cent hike in property sales.

A more modest rise of 20 per cent was seen in East Dunbartonshire, with East Renfrewshire up 15 per cent. Bosses at the agency, which was founded by two former directors of Clyde Property, said the market had failed to be derailed by Brexit uncertainty while the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) had not impacted on sales figures.

LBTT has been blamed by many in the industry for a slump in transactions at the upper end of the market, particularly in Edinburgh. Co-director Stuart Wylie said: “What we are seeing is the Glasgow market out-performing the rest of Scotland and, indeed, much of the UK.

“While parts of Edinburgh continue to hold-up, that can’t be said for the city as a whole but, across the M8, it’s a different story.

“We have seen people prepared to pay prices significantly above the Home Report value for houses, particularly in the west end and the southside. “The gentrification of the east end has continued with higher prices being paid for upgraded tenement flats and even town houses in areas like Dennistoun.” The firm, which brands itself as a “hybrid estate agency”, expects the growth in sales to continue.

Fellow director Barry Walker said: “Where you have demand outstripping supply, some buyers will invariably pay more to secure the limited number of properties available. It’s a recipe for a distorted market which isn’t always healthy but we’re some way short of a bubble, as things stand.”

Source: Scotsman

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UK Construction Activity Picked Up in February but Outlook Remains Challenging

Britain’s third largest economic sector, the construction industry, has been mired in recession for three consecutive quarters. Economists are now looking for signs this downturn eased during February.

The UK construction industry enjoyed a surprise boost during February, according to the latest IHS Markit Construction PMI, although “there is little sign of an imminent turnaround in overall growth momentum”.

February’s IHS Markit PMI index rose to 51.4, up from 50.2 in January, when economists had forecast a much more meagre increase to 50.5.

This marks the first rise for the index in three months and, although IHS say the growth outlook remains bleak, it may provide some hope that the three-quarter downturn in the industry is now easing.

The PMI is a survey that measures changes in business conditions in the construction industry from month to month. It asks respondents to rate current conditions across a range of areas including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries and inventories.

A number above the 50.0 level indicates industry expansion while a number below is consistent with contraction.

A sudden jump in commercial construction activity was the biggest contributor to February’s gains which, expanding at its fastest pace since May 2017, is notable because the commercial segment made the greatest contribution to 2017’s downturn.

“Civil engineering was the worst performing category of construction work, with activity falling at the sharpest pace for five months. A soft patch for house building continued in February, meaning that residential work remained on track for its weakest quarter since Q3 2016,” IHS Markit says.

“At the same time, strong input cost pressures were reported in February, with higher raw material prices, fuel bills and staff wages reported by survey respondents.”

PMI surveys frequently overestimate economic activity and IHS Markit Construction survey is no different.

The construction survey has printed only one number that is consistent with an industry recession during the last 12 months yet official output data shows the industry has contracted for three separate quarters.

Nonetheless, February’s report rhymes with the changing tone of the latest Office for National Statistics data, covering December, which showed the three-quarter downturn easing a touch in the final month of last year.

Construction is Britain’s third largest economic sector. Much of its earlier weakness was the result of commercial construction being hindered by Brexit uncertainty and oversupply of new office space in key hubs like London.

Residential activity has remained robust, in broad terms, although it has softened a touch of late.

The London market has been an exception to this as stamp duty tax changes and the outcome of the Brexit referendum in June 2016 have both hit demand for prime real estate in the capital.

Friday’s data comes closely on the heels of the IHS manufacturing PMI, which showed the manufacturing index slipping for the third month running as production slowed in February while export order book growth moderated a touch.

It also comes after a flurry of other gloomy news for the UK, the economy and its currency. Nationwide Building Society data released Thursday showed UK house prices falling 0.3% in February, following a brief and surprise pickup in January.

“Month-to-month changes can be volatile, but the slowdown is consistent with signs of softening in the household sector in recent months,” Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a note accompanying the figures.

The mortgage data followed an Office for National Statistics report released last week, showing the UK economy grew slower than was previously thought during the final quarter of 2017.

ONS says UK economic growth was in fact 0.4% during the final quarter, not the 0.5% previously suggested by the ONS, dealing a blow to observers who had cheered a last minute lift in UK economic momentum during 2017.

The annual pace of growth was also downwardly revised, from 1.8% to 1.7%, with the revised number marking a fall from the 1.9% growth seen back in 2016.

That was the result of downward revisions to industrial production figures, due to the closure of a key oil pipeline in the North Sea, and business investment having ground to a standstill.

This data came closely on the heels of the fourth quarter labour market report, which showed the unemployment rate rising for the first time since July 2015. The ONS attributed this to a rise in the participation rate rather than an increase in job losses.

All of this matters for the Pound because it could impact on the Bank of England and its thinking about whether the UK will be able to sustain another rise in interest rates. It hiked the base rate by 25 basis points already, to 0.50%, in November.

For what it’s worth, the fourth quarter growth performance was in line with the BoE’s forecasts and it’s well known now the bank’s primary concern is inflation, which sits stubbornly at 3%.

So far, the bank says it’s taken heart from the broad fall in unemployment over recent years, which is now beginning to push wages higher, and because of this it is less willing to play it cautious by holding back on interest rate rises.

Nonetheless, a further deterioration in UK economic conditions, particularly around unemployment and Brexit, may change this.

Source: Pound Sterling Live

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Two-year fixed mortgage rates surge to one-year high

Rates on two-year mortgage fixes have hit their highest level in a year, analysis has showed.

The typical two-year fix-rate mortgage this week hit 2.4%, up from lows of 2.17% in September, data from Moneyfacts.co.uk showed.

Over the past month alone the average rate has lifted from 2.34% and is now at its highest level in a year. The Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in a decade in November, taking the base rate to 0.5%. Monetary policymakers are expected to hike again in May, with more increases to possibly follow later in the year. As a result, swap rates – which banks use to price their fixed rate mortgages – have been rising and lenders have reacted with a spate of re-pricing action.

Borrowers looking to secure competitive remortgage deals have now been urged to act fast, as rates are expected to carry on creeping up in the coming weeks, Moneyfacts.co.uk warned.

Charlotte Nelson from Moneyfacts said: “Swap rates rising, is particularly significant, as this was an early sign of the base rate rise that occurred last November.

“Just like last time providers are again starting to factor swap rate rises into their pricing. This has caused the average two-year fixed rate to start creeping up, and this new trend is showing no signs of abating yet. With rates still low, it is difficult for providers to swallow the increased cost by any means other than increasing the rates on offer.”

“The only way from here appears to be up, so borrowers who are sitting on their Standard Variable Rate, or coming to the end of their deal, would be wise to look for a fixed rate. It is now important that they act fast to ensure they get the best possible.”

Source: Your Money

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Availability Of Rental Properties In London Half National Average

The availability of investment properties to rent in London has fallen 46 per cent below the national average, according to new monthly figures from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

ARLA has found that landlords are being increasingly priced out of the capital. This has led to increasing competition in the buy to let sector for rental properties, and a lack of availability of suitable properties.

It was found that in January, letting agents situated in London were managing an average of 99 properties. This is in comparison to the national average of 184. London was also the lowest region for supply during December, but it stood at 130 properties per letting agent then. This was in comparison to a national average of 200.

The buy to let market in London suffers from a unique mix of issues given the capital’s extremely high prices. This is coupled with growing legislation and regulation in the buy to let sector, which adds to making landlords’ jobs more complex.

ARLA chief executive, David Cox, spoke out about the research findings: ‘The rental market in London should be thriving as the capital is a hub for business and culture and attracts a huge influx of new residents every year. But the prospect of being a landlord is becoming less tenable, as potential buy to let investors are deterred by increased taxes and ever more complicated legislation and higher property prices in London are making it becoming more and more difficult for landlords to make ends meet.’

He argued that the increasingly dense field of regulation surrounding the buy to let sector is having an adverse effect on government policies. He continued: ‘Government policies designed to help renters now seem to be having the opposite effect, as landlords are moving away from using professional agents. This puts tenants at risk of falling into the hands of rogue landlords, or novice ones who don’t have any experience in the sector.’

Source: Residential Landlord

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Perfect storm ahead for challenger banks

Higher interest rates, the end of government funding schemes and tougher tax of buy-to-let investors are being seen by some as creating a triple threat for challenger banks.

The Bank of England has recently ended its Funding for Lending scheme and the larger Term Funding Scheme.

Both schemes were designed to encourage banks and building societies to lend more to households and businesses.

Rob James, banks analyst at Old Mutual Global Investors, said this meant “the government was essentially giving free money to banks for them to lend out”, a situation that particularly helped the newer challenger banks grown.

“[The two government schemes] benefit the challenger banks more than the large incumbent banks because, the challenger banks have not had to worry about getting savings deposits in, so they could just focus on growing their share of the [mortgage] market.

“But with the government scheme ending, that benefits the banks that have the big base of current accounts, because they will be able to keep lending.”

He said some challenger banks are likely to have to use the wholesale funding markets to raise finance as the government schemes come to an end, which increases the the cost to banks of issuing new mortgages, due to not having as large a base of current account customers.

As FTAdviser has previously reported, the impact of higher funding costs for mortgage providers is already being felt in the buy-to-let market, where a report from Mortgages for Business shows that buy-to-let mortgage providers are having to reduce their margins in order to win market share.

Mr James’ analysis is that this will happen in the wider mortgage market, and that the inevitable consequence is that mortgage rates will increase, whatever happens to UK interest rates.

A representative of challenger bank Shawbrook, which only provides buy-to-let mortgages and remortgage products, said while the Bank of England schemes have provided funding at attractive levels for banks, “this benefit has mainly been passed through to clients in the form of aggressive price competition”.

“The effect has been exaggerated because banks have not applied the benefit uniformly across their product range, with pricing in some segments often driven by one or more banks concentrating much of their funding benefit into that area, dragging down product margins further than might be expected and placing pressure on specialist players like Shawbrook,” they admitted.

“In addition, the easy liquidity and benign credit environment have led some banks to expand their lending into areas from which they will withdraw as the surplus liquidity begins to recede.”

However the end of the government schemes’ cheap money could see big banks’ withdrawal from specialist areas of the market, which would mean lenders that remain in those niches would have increased pricing power, even if their funding costs rise, Shawbrook said.

David Hollingworth, associate director for communications at mortgage brokers London & Country Mortgages, said the range of lenders using the term funding scheme was virtually across the board, from the mutual associations right through to the big banks.

“We have seen very keen mortgage rates, and they may have gone to record lows anyway due to low base rates, but it is hard to see how the term funding scheme, couldn’t have had an impact.

“Now that has come to an end at the same time as the market is expecting the base rate to rise. Both of those will cause mortgage rates to rise, and it won’t be obvious how much of it will be the term funding scheme.”

He added that an environment of tighter liquidity will likely have less impact on the bigger banks, as they have a wider range of funding options.

Paul Richards, chairman of Ignis Cash Solutions, said that end of the Term Funding Scheme is potentially more important for savers than the Bank of England increasing the base rate.

He said this is because commercial banks will have no choice but to increase the rates they offer to savers in order to acquire the funding they need.

Source: FT Adviser

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House prices fall back in February

House price growth fell back in February to 2.2%, down from 3.2% in January, the latest house price index from Nationwide has revealed. 

Nationwide had reported strong results for the UK housing Market in January – against market expectation and at odds with some other indices.

Overall there was a 0.3% month-on-month fall took the average UK house price to £210,402 – the first time since August 2017 that house prices have fallen month-on-month.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “After picking up unexpectedly in January, UK house price growth fell back in February, to 2.2% from 3.2% the previous month.

“House prices fell by 0.3% over the month, after taking account of seasonal factors.

“Month-to-month changes can be volatile, but the slowdown is consistent with signs of softening in the household sector in recent months.

“Retail sales were relatively soft over the Christmas period and at the start of the new year, as were key measures of consumer confidence, as the squeeze on household incomes continued to take its toll.”

Meanwhile Jeff Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans, said the costs of buying a property are still plaguing the sector.

He said: “Despite housing prices dropping slightly, affordability remains a challenge. Many face the likelihood of having to relocate outside the capital for a realistic offer – and given sluggish wage growth and lack of available properties as sellers hold their breath, even that is a challenge.

“Purchasing a property in today’s market can leave many feeling exhausted and disheartened by the process, particularly if they have previous blips on their credit record.

“Providing flexible financial options and a sufficient supply of properties to all those wanting to make the ownership goal a reality is crucial, a top-of-the-list priority across the industry.”

Lucy Pendleton, founder director of independent estate agents James Pendleton, said the results were more in line with what was expected for 2018.

She added: “Cancel that street party, it was just a blip after all. Last month’s optimism has evaporated faster than a snowman on the Equator.

“The January surge looked just as out of place too but Nationwide had already issued its own spoiler alert for this one.

“The firm warned the housing market was slowing earlier this month based on a huge 43% drop in lending at the end of last year.

“If they are right, expect a slow rise, slight fizzle, a gentle landing and no major pop as we move into the second half of the year. House price growth will have to tend to zero at some point if the market is to remain as flat as broadly expected in 2018.”

Source: Mortgage Introducer