Britain’s house price surge slowed in January after the biggest monthly jump in more than four years in December, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Wednesday, although on an annual basis prices continue to rocket higher.

British house prices rose roughly in line with expectations, up 0.7 percent this month compared with a 1.4 percent increase in December, which was the biggest single-month increase since August 2009.

The increase this month pushed the average price of a British house to 176,491 pounds ($292,700), or 8.8 percent higher on the year in the biggest annual rise since May 2010, when Britain’s coalition government first came to power.

Many economists are concerned that a government scheme launched in October which makes it easier for home buyers to get a mortgage with only a 5 percent deposit is likely to raise prices, rather than boost construction as the government hopes.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-house-price-surge-slows-070221524.html