UK annual house price growth was gaining momentum in April

According to the report from Nationwide Building Society, annual house price growth edges up to 3.7%, the strongest since February 2017. Economists had expected a 2.5% increase. On a monthly basis, home prices increased 0.7%, after taking account of seasonal factors. Economists had expected a 0.3% decrease.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "Annual house price growth increased to 3.7% in April, up from 3% in March - the fastest pace since February 2017 (when annual growth was 4.5%). There have been month on-month gains for the last seven months in a row, after taking account of seasonal effects. It's important to note that the impact of the pandemic is not fully captured in this month's figures. This is because our index is constructed using mortgage approval data, and there is a lag between mortgage applications being submitted and approved. Indeed, c80% of cases in the April sample relate to mortgage applications that commenced prior to the lockdown, and hence before the full extent of the impact of the pandemic became clear".