Home price increases across the U.K. continued to slow in May, as yearly growth dropped to 3%, according to the latest house price index from the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics, released Wednesday.
The figure is a decline from the 3.5% annual growth logged in April and the lowest annual price increase logged for almost five years, the report said.
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Average house prices in the nation currently stand at £226,351 (US$295,516), a marginal rise from April’s average of £226,056 (US$294,324).
The slowdown is being driven by falling house prices in London and waning price growth in the city’s neighboring counties, according to the report.
In London, prices dipped 0.4% year-over-year in May, the only price fall logged of all the regions in the U.K. and the fourth consecutive month the city has seen house prices fall annually.
The best performing region was the East Midlands—home to cities like Leicester and Nottingham—which recorded annual price increases of 6.3%.
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Meanwhile, at the country level, the largest annual price growth was recorded in Scotland, where house prices increased 4.9% over the year to May 2018, putting the average home price at £149,004 (US$194,739).
In England, the average price increased 2.9% to £243,583 (US$318,354) and Wales saw house prices increase 1% to £148,894 (US$194,599) in the same time.
The report analyzed Northern Ireland’s quarterly prices and found the average price increased 4.2% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year.