According to the report from Nationwide Building Society, annual house price growth remained subdued at 0.9% in April. Economists had expected a 0.7% increase. The data also showed that prices rose 0.4% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “UK house price growth remained subdued in April, with prices just 0.9% higher than the same month last year. Indicators of housing market activity, such as the number of property transactions and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, have remained broadly stable in recent months, even though survey data suggests that sentiment has softened. Measures of consumer confidence weakened around the turn of the year and surveyors report that new buyer enquiries have remained subdued. While the number of properties coming onto the market has also slowed, this doesn’t appear to have been enough to prevent a modest shift in the balance of supply and demand in favour of buyers in recent months. April marks the fifth month in a row in which annual house price growth has been below 1%“.