UK property prices remained unchanged during April, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide building society.

The average price of a house stayed at �122,748, while the annual rate of house price inflation fell to 22.2% from 26.2% in March.

The findings confirm the recent trend toward a cooling in the housing market.

"House prices over the last three months have risen at their slowest pace since December 2001 and the market is clearly less frenetic than April last year when prices jumped 3.3%," said Nationwide group economist Alex Bannister.

But he added there was little likelihood of a "damaging correction" in the market.

Boom over

A number of recent housing surveys have indicated that the era of runaway price increases is at an end.

Someone on average earnings now needs nearly �15,000 over and above a 5% deposit to be able to get on the property ladder Alex Bannister, Nationwide

On Monday, the latest study from property analyst Hometrack found prices in England and Wales had fallen on average.

The Nationwide survey said the number of housing sales had fallen, and noted the slowdown had been driven by a lack of first-time buyers in the market.

"In the first quarter of 2003, the monthly average number of first-time buyers dropped to 27,000, more than a quarter down on the same period of 2002, " Mr Bannister said.

"If this trend persists for the rest of the year it will take the number of first-time buyers to around 400,000.

"This would be the lowest level since mortgage markets were deregulated in the early 1980s."

The high cost of many properties is now posing an insurmountable barrier to many first-time buyers.

"Someone on average earnings now needs nearly �15,000 over and above a 5% deposit to be able to get on the property ladder," Mr Bannister said.

Steady progress

Despite the recent slowdown, the Nationwide said it expected monthly house price growth to return to 0.5-1% over the next few months with little danger of a price crash.

"Whereas previous upswings in the housing market over the last 30 years have ended with higher interest rates and a worsening jobs market the current upswing looks unlikely to end this way given the outlook for the wider economy," Mr Bannister said.

"A sustained period of lower house sales and house price inflation looks a more likely outcome - even if this appears to be a return to the sort of housing market cycles seen back in the fifties."