LONDON (MarketWatch) — British mortgage lender Nationwide on Wednesday said house prices fell for the sixth consecutive month, adding to the gloom over the U.K. housing market.
House prices saw a monthly decline of 1.1% from March, and were down 1% compared to April 2007, marking the first annual price decline since 1996. The drop brought the price of a typical house down to 178,555 pounds ($351,992), down 1,759 pounds from April 2007.
Higher mortgage rates, tighter lending criteria and less demand from first-time buyers has seen the number of transactions fall, said Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s chief economist.
The Bank of England on Tuesday reported that April mortgage approvals fell to 64,000 — the lowest figure since the current statistical series began in April.
Meanwhile, some mortgage interest rates have risen despite …
