UK house prices fall at fastest rate since 2009, says Nationwide

August 5.3% drop comes as sales completions down by about 40% in first half of year compared with 2021

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UK house prices fell 5.3% in August compared with the same month last year, the fastest annual drop in 14 years, according to Nationwide Building Society.

The lender said the fall, which was the biggest since July 2009, when the global economy was in the depths of the financial crisis, was driven by soaring mortgage costs, which are putting off potential buyers. Average house prices are more than 14,500 lower than they were a year ago and mortgage approvals have plummeted by a fifth compared with pre-pandemic levels.