Are house prices going down or up? It is the question on everyone’s lips, and luckily, thanks to Nationwide, it is now perfectly possible to reply: both.
House prices were yesterday widely reported to have slipped by 0.2% according to Nationwide’s house price index for April.
And thanks to our old friend ‘seasonal adjustment’, house prices went up, according to Nationwide’s house price index for April.
In March the average house price was £163,327. In April they went down – or up, depending on which way you look at it – to £164,134.
We suspect that most of the fearless property media commentators went straight to Nationwide’s own prophet of doom, otherwise known as its chief economic adviser, Robert Gardner.
He certainly seemed to think prices had gone down, saying: “The price of a typical UK home fell by 0.2% in April, following a 1% decline in March.”
Ah yes, that 1% decline – the one where house prices went down (as Nationwide seems to prefer that word to ‘up’) from £162,712 in February to £163,327.
We think there is only one thing to do with seasonal adjustment.
Take it outside and drown it. Or let it bake in the sun. Whichever season it is (and the weather, nationwide, certainly does not seem to know).
Meanwhile, Halifax reported this morning that house prices in April fell 2.4%, more than wiping out March's gain of 2.2%. According to Halifax, the average house price now stands at £159,883.
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