(Sharecast News) - UK house prices were steady in March and are likely to remain "a little soft" in the coming months due to stamp duty changes, according to data released on Tuesday by Nationwide.
House prices were up 3.9% on the year in March, unchanged on February. On the month, prices were flat, having risen 0.4% in February.
The average price of a home stood at £271,316 last month, versus £270,493 in February.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "These price trends are unsurprising, given the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of March (transactions associated with mortgage approvals made in March, especially toward the end of the month, would be unlikely to complete before the deadline).
"Indeed, the market is likely to remain a little soft in the coming months since activity will have been brought forward to avoid the additional tax obligations - a pattern typically observed in the wake of the end of stamp duty holidays.
"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."
Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The stagnation in Nationwide house prices in March suggests any boost from buyers rushing to complete home purchases ahead of the rise in stamp duty from today may have been offset by the weak economy and/or the recent rises in mortgage rates.
"Further ahead, we still expect national house prices to rise by around 3.5% this year and by 4.5% next year. That's based on our forecast for Bank Rate to fall from 4.50% now to 3.50% during 2026 rather than to 4.00% as investors anticipate. But if the weakness of the wider economy proves to be a bigger drag on housing demand than we expect, or interest rates don't fall quite as far, the rise in prices would be softer."