It's a fall of 0.1% in January, the Nationwide index's third consecutive monthly fall, bringing annual inflation to 4.2% (from 4.8% in December)... the lowest figure since December 2005. This brings the all important three month figure into the red... a 0.3% fall. An interest rate cut next week? Here's a link to the actual, factual report from Nationwide (pdf). Scroll down the graphs. The Average UK House Price graph, plotted over ten years, shows just how serious a crash would be necessary to put a dent in the (theoretical) "profits" of anybody who's held property for five years or more. The Annual % Change in House Prices graph below it is fascinating because it shows how much volatility the market can take before producing annual losses. Note how, in September 05, the annual percentage figure dropped well below the current one... a year later it was at 8%. But the 3 Month on Previous 3 Month % Change graph is the news grabber... dropping below the horizontal for the first time in over three years.

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