UK house prices fall for first time since June

LONDON: British house prices fell in January for the first time in seven months, before the scheduled March 31 end of a tax cut for buyers, mortgage lender Nationwide said.

House prices fell by a monthly 0.3 per cent, slowing the pace of their annual increase to 6.4 per cent from 7.3 per cent in December, which was their biggest jump in six years.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a monthly increase of 0.3 per cent and a 6.9 per cent rise in annual terms.

— Reuters