LONDON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- British house prices increased by 0.2 percent over the month in December, data showed by Nationwide Building Society Tuesday. The growth rate was lower than the 0.3 percent rise in November.
British average house prices was 188,559 pounds (around 292,600 U.S. dollars) in December, 7.2 percent higher than that of the same period a year earlier, said the British mortgage provider in a press release. The year-on-year growth rate was also lower than the previous month's 8.5 percent.
In the three-month to December, British house prices increased by 1.0 percent over the previous quarter, slightly higher than the 0.9 percent growth that recorded in the three-month to November, data showed.
Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, commented that it was the fourth consecutive month where annual growth had moderated, and 12 of the 13 British regions saw the pace of annual growth slow.
"The slowdown in housing market activity is surprising given further steady gains in employment, a pickup in wage growth and the continued low level of mortgage rates" noted Gardner.
The number of mortgages approved for house purchase in October was around 22 percent below the level prevailing at the start of the year, recording their lowest level over the past 16 months, figures also showed. (1 pound=1.55 U.S. dollars)
