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House prices edged ahead by 0.3% during May as the property market continued to trade sideways, figures have shown.

The rise, which offset April's 0.2% fall, left the average home costing £167,208 - 1.2% less than a year earlier, according to Nationwide Building Society.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Overall, the modest pace of house price growth in May suggests that the property market is continuing to mirror the lacklustre trends evident in the wider economy."

The quarter-on-quarter change, which is generally regarded as a smoother indicator of housing market

Visit BBC Gardeners' World Live (15th-19th June at Birmingham's NEC) to see Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh, Carol Klein and a host of other gardening experts live in action at Britain's most friendly and inspirational gardening Show!

If you haven't already booked your tickets to attend the gardening event of the Summer then you can book online https://www.theticketfactory.com/gwl/online/ or call the ticket hotline on 0844 581 1340.

Further to the first time buyer statistics that I added a few minutes ago, it has also been reported today that Britons do not think they will be able to afford to buy their first home until they are nearly 40 and nearly a third have given up trying to get on the property ladder.

Research has indicated that the average person who does not yet own a home expects to have to wait until they are 38 before they can afford to buy, rising to 43 in London.

A further 31% of people said they did not plan to try to buy a property at all, according to financial website moneysupermarket.com.

The

E.surv, which is responsible for 40% of house valuations in the UK, has reported that lenders are beginning to offer higher loan-to-value mortgages and that more first time buyers are purchasing homes.

The company’s latest figures also show that 27% of all mortgage approvals in April were for properties costing less than £125,000. The figure is 7% higher than the same month in 2010, and 79% of all approvals were for properties costing less than £250,000, up from 71% in April 2010.

It says the data shows that lenders are beginning to offer higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages, with the

Student accommodation in the regions of England and Wales outperformed all other property asset classes in the year to December 2010, according to Knight Frank, with total returns (income and capital values) of 14.65%, against London’s 8.41%.

The company report that the strong performance of the regions is being driven by the imbalance in supply and demand. The Knight Frank Student Property Report Spring 2011 points to Kingston, Brighton, Edinburgh and Durham as the top ten locations to invest in student property.

Knight Frank also expects that universities will begin to market

There are a number of large property auctions taking place this week starting off in the North East this evening.  If you haven't looked already, check out our database for auction property under the hammer this week in London, Merseyside, North East and the West Midlands, as well as smaller auctions throughout the rest of the UK. Any unsold lots from these auctions will be displayed in our database as soon as the auctioneers have released the results.

Property for auction in the South West, namely Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Devon and Cornwall, is being uploaded into our database from today

From 15th - 19th June 2011, visit BBC Gardeners' World Live at Birmingham's NEC, to see live demonstrations from all your favourite gardening experts including Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh in the Gardeners' World Magazine Theatre.

Learn all about the UK countryside and the wildlife that inhabits it, and pick up top tips on the best British destinations to visit this summer. Plus, see the Countryfile TV presenters live on stage!

Be inspired by stunning Show Gardens from established, new, and young garden designers. It's the best place to find ideas from urban get-aways to exotic planting

There are a number of design fairs this month, so a quick reminder of one starting today in London...

May 11-14; Olympia Grand Hall (0844 412 4623; spiritofsummer.co.uk) Born to shop? You’ll love this annual fair with more than 300 “boutique” stalls selling posh stuff that isn’t on the high street, including home and garden goods, travel accessories, fashion, jewellery and more.

Enjoy food and drinks tastings, demonstrations and workshops. Tickets in advance, £15; older children £7. On the door, £16.50 and £8.  

There are a few properies in our Hot Picks that are still available from last week's auctions - namely in Spalding, Aberdeen and Coatbridge.  The Brixton flats are currently still available however have had lots of interest since last week, so if you're interested you had better move quickly!

The three bedroom house in West Midlands is going to auction next Thursday, so if you're interested in finding out more about it, give us a ring or contact us through our enquiry form.

More properties are being uploaded this week, and a few auctions are also taking place.  Keep checking back as new

The average cost of a home dropped 1.4% during the month to stand at £160,395, the lowest level since July 2009, according to the latest Halifax house price index.

The latest slide led to property values being 3.7% lower during the three months to the end of April than during the same three months of the previous year - the biggest annual decline since October 2009.

Halifax blamed the slide on weak consumer confidence in the face of economic uncertainty, which it said was constraining demand, putting downward pressure on prices.

Property values are now just 4% above the low they hit