House price growth slumps to five-year low: Nationwide

This is a 0.4% drop compared to September's figures and as a result, annual house price growth has moved below the narrow range of 2-3% seen over the previous 12 months.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "This was broadly in line with our expectations, as the squeeze on household budgets and the uncertain economic outlook is likely to have dampened demand, even though borrowing costs remain low by historic standards and unemployment is at 40-year lows. We continue to expect house prices to rise by around 1% over the course of 2018.

“Looking further ahead, much will depend on how broader economic conditions evolve. If the uncertainty lifts in the months ahead, there is scope for activity to pick-up throughout next year. The squeeze on household incomes is already moderating and policymakers have signalled that interest rates are only expected to raise at a modest pace and to a limited extent in the years ahead."

Jonathan Samuels, CEO of Octane Capital, commented: “The property market appears to have gone back like the clocks. October was the month things got noticeably darker on the house price front.

“Brexit is drawing ever closer and the great unknown it represents is undermining confidence and dragging on transaction levels.

“A robust jobs market and continued low borrowing rates are preventing an outright collapse, despite high living costs and interest rate uncertainty."

Mike Scott, chief property analyst at Yopa, added: "October's house price index shows a renewed slowdown, with no change in prices for the month and the annual rate of increase falling to 1.6%, its slowest in more than five years. However, with two months to go it remains significantly ahead of Nationwide’s 1% forecast for the year."