U.K. Home Prices Unexpectedly Rise

London – UK house prices posted a surprise monthly increase at the end of 2010, highlighting that the current downturn in the property market is only a modest one, the Nationwide Building Society said Friday. According to the mortgage lender, house prices rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.4% from November and were 0.4% higher compared with December 2009. Looking ahead to 2011, Nationwide said it expects house prices will decline only slightly over the course of the year. – WSJ