The housing market has turned – so what does that mean for buyers and sellers waiting to make a move?

House prices are down and mortgage costs are up, writes James Moore. So how long will buyers and sellers need to wait before the market shows signs of life?

Buyers are reluctant to pay through the nose for houses, and prices have been falling month on month (Yui Mok/PA)

Britain’s housing market has turned hostile again, at least for sellers. The latest Nationwide index showed a surprise 0.4 per cent fall in April, the second month-on-month decline in a row.

A rival index produced by Halifax recorded a 1 per cent month-on-month fall in March, with the next update due next week. These indices can be volatile, but another fall would now be the betting favourite.

Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner points to two trends to explain the market’s unhappiness. There has been a rise in new properties coming onto the market, while at the same time mortgage rates have been rising, stretching affordability, especially so far as the market’s most important sector – first-time buyers – are concerned.