Annual house price growth slows to 0.1%: Nationwide

This is despite a modest 0.3% increase month-on-month after taking account of seasonal factors.

Nationwide says the slowdown is likely due to ongoing economic uncertainty, "given that it has occurred against a backdrop of solid employment growth, stronger wage growth and continued low borrowing costs".

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: “Annual house price growth almost ground to a complete halt in January, with prices just 0.1% higher than the same time last year. This follows a subdued December when price growth slowed to 0.5%.

“Indicators of housing market activity, such as the number of property transactions and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, have remained broadly stable in recent months, but forward-looking indicators had suggested some softening was likely.

“In particular, measures of consumer confidence weakened in December and surveyors reported a further fall in new buyer enquiries towards the end of 2018. While the number of properties coming onto the market also slowed, this doesn’t appear to have been enough to prevent a modest shift in the balance of demand and supply in favour of buyers in recent months."

Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, commented: "Britain’s property market is as glacial as its weather. Price growth has all but disappeared as the combination of patchy demand and limited supply freeze into a stagnant stand-off.

“All this despite some solid economic fundamentals; a higher proportion of Britons are in work than ever, average wages are rising at a decent clip and mortgages are cheap.

“But house prices are being weighed down not by the economy, but by the imponderable ‘X factor’ of property purchases – sentiment. Many would-be sellers are battening down the hatches, staying put and opting to wait until prices rise before putting their home on the market.

“Meanwhile weak confidence is having a polarising effect on buyers. Some are opting to sit on their hands until Britain’s Brexit impasse is broken, while other, more strategic, buyers are striking now.

“In formerly prime markets like much of London, we’re seeing a steady stream of opportunistic, frequently cash, buyers emerging from the woodwork to snap up homes at large discounts.

“Their calculation is that the lack of supply, plus the relative resilience of the economy, even in the teeth of the Brexit storm, will be enough to place a floor under prices – making now a strong buying opportunity that will disappear if and when the market normalises.”