(Adds details from Nationwide statement and background)
LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - British house prices rose by
0.5% in April after falling for the seven previous months,
mortgage lender Nationwide said, adding to signs that the
property market has stabilised after last year's "mini-budget"
upheaval.
The average house price remained 4% below its peak in August
last year which was before former Prime Minister Liz Truss and
her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng briefly sent debt markets
into a tailspin by announcing a plan for big, unfunded tax cuts.
Compared with April last year, the average house price
was down by 2.7%, Nationwide said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected prices to fall
by 0.4% in month-on-month terms and by an annual 3.6%.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said an
expected sharp slowing of inflation later this year - combined
with a recent improvement in consumer confidence surveys - could
support a modest recovery in the housing market.
"But any upturn is likely to remain fairly pedestrian,
as it will take time for household finances to recover," Gardner
said, adding the rise in mortgage rates would also slow the
recovery even if they were now below their levels after the
mini-budget.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by Sarah Young)
Reuters Messaging: william.schomberg.reuters.com@reuters.net))
