-Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist
According to the Nationwide, annual house price growth in the UK slumped between December and January. The growth was continuously decreasing for five months in a row, as it reached a 14-month low of 6.8% in January. The prices for houses rose slightly less than the 0.4% expectation, by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% in the preceding month, with house prices currently 2.4% above the pre-crisis high. The price growth is expected to remain at a steady level amid activity slowdown in the housing market over the last few months. The amount of mortgages approved for purchasing houses was approximately 20% less than the level in the same month in 2014. Reasons for the slowdown are obscure, as unemployment keeps sliding down and for the first time in five years the wage growth rate is outrunning the cost of living. If economic background continues to strengthen as anticipated, the housing market activity will keep improving in the upcoming months.
Meanwhile, the UK retail sale volumes declined in January, but less than the expectation of 31 points, relieving of any concerns over UK's economic situation. In January the CBI realized sales declined by 22 points to 39, compared to 61 in the preceding month. The sales index data above 0 shows higher sales volumes, while below zero indicates lower sales volumes.
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