North West house prices rise 3.9% as UK growth slows sharply
Nationwide says the North West, including Cheshire, remained England’s strongest-performing region in the third quarter despite weaker growth across the wider UK housing market.
By The Guardian
House price growth across the UK slowed sharply in September, although the North West remained England’s strongest-performing region, according to the latest Nationwide figures.
The lender said UK annual house price growth fell to 0.8% in September, down from 1.6% in August and the weakest rate recorded since December 2025.
Prices also fell by 0.2% month on month after seasonal adjustment.
The average UK home was valued at £274,251 in September, compared with £275,465 in August.
However, Nationwide’s regional figures for the third quarter showed a stronger performance in the North West, which includes Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
Average prices across the region were 3.9% higher than a year earlier, unchanged from the previous quarter and the strongest annual growth recorded anywhere in England.
The average North West property price in the three months to September was £231,360.
The regional picture was considerably stronger than much of southern England, where average prices collectively fell by 0.1% compared with a year earlier.
East Anglia was the weakest-performing UK region, with prices down 0.7%, while Northern Ireland recorded the strongest growth nationally at 5.9%.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said housing activity and price growth had remained subdued in recent months, partly because of uncertainty in the wider economy.
The lender said higher energy prices and concerns about inflation had increased financial market expectations that Bank Rate could rise again.
Those expectations have pushed up the market interest rates used to price mortgages, adding to borrowing costs for buyers and people refinancing existing loans.
Despite those pressures, Nationwide said underlying housing affordability had been improving because house prices have been rising more slowly than earnings for some time.
The lender said those gains had only been partly offset by higher mortgage rates.
Performance also differed by property type during the third quarter.
Terraced homes recorded the strongest annual growth, with prices up 1.8%, while flat prices were broadly unchanged compared with the same period a year earlier.
Over a longer period, Nationwide said flats had significantly underperformed other types of property. Since the beginning of 2020, typical flat prices have risen by around 14%, compared with a 31% increase for semi-detached homes.
Nationwide said housing activity could regain momentum in the coming quarters if inflationary pressure from higher energy costs eases and market interest rates fall back.
For Cheshire buyers and homeowners, the latest figures suggest the regional market continues to outperform the UK average, despite the wider slowdown in price growth and continuing pressure from mortgage costs.