House prices post strongest annual growth in 18 months Government schemes called NewBuy and Help to Buy have also been introduced to specifically give people with smaller deposits a helping hand. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "A number of factors are likely to be contributing to the pick up in activity. There has been an improvement in the availability and a reduction in the cost of credit, partly as a result of policy measures, such as the Funding for Lending Scheme. Indeed, mortgage rates have fallen back towards all time lows in recent months. With the UK returning to growth in the first quarter of 2013, the improvement in wider economic conditions may also be playing a role in boosting sentiment. Mr Gardner said the ongoing low interest rates combined with Government policy provided reasons for "optimism" that activity would continue to gather pace in the coming months. But he cautioned that progress was likely to be gradual, with a continued tough jobs market and pressure on household budgets. "In real terms, average weekly wages have been falling for some time and are now back at the level prevailing in late 2003," he said.