Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "The story of UK house price growth in 2016 was one of relative stability. Annual house price growth ended 2016 at 4.5%, the same as the rate recorded in 2015. "There were signs that London's significant period of outperformance may be drawing to a close. For the first year since 2008, annual house price growth in the capital was lower than the UK average, with prices increasing by 3.7% over the year, down from 12.2% in 2015. "The South of England as a whole continued to see slightly stronger price growth than the North of England, though the differential narrowed. "Price growth in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland remained subdued, though each saw small gains overall in 2016 (see page 3 for more detail on regional price trends).