little festive cheer for uk housing market

Figures released by the world's biggest building society show there was little festive cheer for the UK housing market.

Nationwide say that UK house prices fell by 0.7 per cent in December 2018, bringing to an end a disappointing year for the sector as consumer confidence weakend further. 

Ben Furnell, Managing Director of Furnell Residential Estate Agents & Property Consultants, said: "There is no question that market conditions are extremely tough and this will continue to be the case until the whole Brexit situation is resolved. 

"However we did complete a number of sales in what is traditionally a quiet period including properties being marketed at £1M and £465K, both of which had previously been with other agents. This does show there is some movement providing customer expectations and valuations are realistic and that is the responsibility of the agent."

Meanwhile Nationwide reported that a prominent regional trend was the narrowing of house prices between the North and South of the UK.

Ben commented: "The southern housing market has been particularly badly hit by Brexit and other economic factors, but the North less so, which is a key factor behind this emerging trend."