U.K.'s house price index rose 0.5% month-on-month in May, the Nationwide Building Society said Thursday. Prices rose for a third straight month. Economists had forecast 0.3% growth. In April, prices rose 1%.
On an annual basis, the pace of growth eased to 9.8% from 10.5%. However, it was better than the 9.6% rise economists have anticipated. Prices have been rising since October last year on an annual basis.
"Housing market conditions remain characterised by thin transaction volumes and a relative scarcity of properties for sale, despite a slow return of more sellers in recent months," said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist.
The average price of a U.K. property in May was GBP 169,162, the building society said.
"The reduced house price rise in May reported by the Nationwide - following on from the Bank of England reporting that mortgage approvals remained muted at 49.871 in April - fuels our doubts that house prices will be able to make significant further gains over the coming months," said Howard Archer, Chief U.K. Economist at IHS Global Insight.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.