Nationwide: The annual growth in home prices has slowed to its lowest point in nearly two years

According to the Nationwide Building Society, between December 2024 and December 2025, the average house price increased by just 06%

Annual house price growth nearly stopped in 2025, but the market held steady despite rising mortgage costs, according to Nationwide.

According to the major lender, UK real estate prices increased by just 0.6 percent in the year ending in December 2025, with the average home valued at 271,068.

According to Nationwide, the slight increase in yearly home prices is the slowest since April 2024.

Additionally, average home prices decreased from 272,998 in November by 0.4 percent per month.

All UK regions saw an increase in average house prices in the year ending in December, with the exception of East Anglia, where they decreased by 0.8%. Northern Ireland saw a 9.7% increase in prices.

Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner, stated that although the housing market slowed at the end of 2025, it was still robust.

"Mortgage approvals remained close to pre-Covid levels, even though consumer sentiment was relatively subdued, with households reluctant to spend and mortgage rates around three times their post pandemic lows," Gardner continued.

Gardner stated that although demand remained strong throughout 2025, changes to stamp duty thresholds in April caused volatility throughout the spring and summer as activity peaked in March.

In a different article, we examine the best house price index.

Where were the biggest and least increases in UK home prices?

According to Nationwide, some areas experienced significant increases in property values during the 12 months leading up to December 2025, despite the overall picture showing modest growth in house prices.

Northern Ireland saw a price increase of 9.7%, which was significantly higher than the UK as a whole. There, the average price of a property was 216,919.

House prices in the northwest of England increased by 3.5 percent in December, with an average property value of 225,665.

More moderate increases of 0.7 percent, 0.5 percent, and 0.1 percent were seen in house prices in London, South West England, and outer South East England. In the three areas, the average price of a property was 308,228, 336,561, and 529,372.

The only area where home values decreased was East Anglia, where they dropped by 0.8 percent (269,912). According to Nationwide, this was the first yearly regional decline since the second quarter of 2024, when East Anglia home prices dropped by 0.8%.

Nationwide is credited.

Flat prices keep falling behind.

Nationwide reported that the annual flat price growth trend remained negative. In the twelve months leading up to December, the property type saw a 0.9 percent year-over-year decline.

On the other hand, the yearly growth rates for semi-detached, detached, and terraced properties were 2.4%, 2.2%, and 1.8%, respectively.

The average flat's price has increased by 18% over the past ten years, which is less than half of the 41% increase that terraced houses have seen. According to Nationwide, this is partly because a larger percentage of apartments are located in London, a region where real estate prices have grown more slowly over the previous ten years.

Gardner stated: "The shift in demand observed during the pandemic may contribute to the underperformance of apartments (and London more generally)."

As a result, there was a shift in preferences toward properties with more space, which has only partially reversed.

Additionally, buyers' perceptions of apartments in recent years have probably been affected by rising maintenance, ground rent, and service fees. The "