House prices bounce back

HOUSE prices bounced back during March after falling for the first time in 10 months in February, figures showed today.

The average cost of a UK home rose by 0.7 per cent during the month, largely reversing February's 0.8 per cent drop, according to Nationwide.

The latest rise is unlikely to end speculation over whether February's drop was caused by one-off factors, or marked the start of a new housing market trend.

Nationwide's three-month-on-three-month index showed a further slowdown in price growth this month, with a rise of only 1.6 per cent during the three months to the end of March, compared with 1.8 per cent for the three months to the end of February.