UK house price growth remained stable in March, with no month-on-month growth and with the market expected to lack oopmh in coming weeks due to the end of the stamp duty holiday.
House prices were up 3.9% year on year in March, the same as in February, according to data from Nationwide building society.
Excluding seasonal effects, the average house price last month was £271,316, up from £270,493 in February.
The price trends are "unsurprising", said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, given the stamp duty changes at the end of March, as transactions associated with mortgage approvals made in March would be unlikely to complete before the deadline.
The housing market is "likely to remain a little soft in the coming months", Gardener said, as sellers, buyers and estate agents generally work hard to bring forward transactions to avoid the additional tax obligations.
“Nevertheless, activity is likely to pick up steadily as the summer progresses, despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive," he added.
“The unemployment rate is low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace in real terms (i.e. after accounting for inflation), household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little if Bank Rate is lowered further in the coming quarters as we and most other analysts expect."
Year-on-year, London was the weakest performing region in March, with a 1.9% year-on-year increase, while Northern Ireland remained the most in-demand area, with annual price growth accelerating to 13.5%.