Greater London ended 2017 as the weakest performing region for house prices for the first time since 2004, and was the only region where house prices dropped last year, by 0.5%

The December 2017 Nationwide House Price Index recorded annual growth in house prices was of 2.6%, compared with 4.5% at the end of 2016.

This meant average prices at the end of 2017 were £211,156, which was still an improvement on the prior month when values were at £209,988.

On a monthly basis, growth improved from 0.1% in November to 0.6% in December, and from 2.5% annually to 2.6% over the month.

The worst performer over the year was London, with prices falling in annual terms for the first time in eight years by 0.5% to £470,922. It is the first time the capital ended the year as the weakest performing region since 2004. Nationwide first recorded

The drop helped to narrow the disparity between the capital and the rest of the country.

The west midlands topped the performance tables for the first time, with average prices up 5.2% annually to £182,861, while 2016’s top performer East Anglia saw growth drop from 10.1% to 2.3% in 2017.

Robert Gardner, chief economist for Nationwide, said: “Annual house price growth ended the year at 2.6%, within the 2-4% range that prevailed throughout 2017. This was in line with our expectations and broadly consistent with the 3-4% annual rate of increase we expect to prevail over the long term.”

Nationwide bases its figures on its own mortgage approvals.