The outlook for house prices

UK house prices increased in value by 0.1% in September, following a -0.6% monthly change in August, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

House prices remained flat over the three months to September. This means that the average price for a property is now £166,256.

These latest figures from Nationwide mean that the average price of a home is 0.3% lower than it was a year ago.

Buyer confidence is an important factor when considering wider economic sentiment. These more or less static house price figures might suggest that nervousness from the stock markets, as a result of the eurozone debt crisis, is also being felt to a lesser extent in the property market.

Property prices this year also confirm regional disparity.

The latest data from the Land Registry found that house prices in the North East of England have fallen by 7.8% during the year to August. The worst hit area for property prices was Hartlepool, with the average property price falling by 15.7% over the same period.

There is potentially some light at the end of the property price tunnel.

The latest mortgage approval figures published by the Bank of England show the highest number of new mortgages approved in nearly two years. A total of 52,410 mortgages were approved during September which is nearly 3,000 more than were approved in July.

These mortgage approval figures suggest that property prices could improve in the autumn, although with so much uncertainty across the UK and global economies, anything could happen in the short term.