British house prices show surprise fall in June - Nationwide

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - British house prices unexpectedly fell last month, taking the annual rate of price increases to its lowest in two years, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.

Nationwide said house prices dropped by 0.2 percent on the month in June -- well below economists' forecasts of a 0.2 percent rise -- pushing the annual rate of growth to a two-year low of 3.3 percent from 4.6 percent in May.

"This maintains the gradual downward trend that has been in evidence since mid-2014," Nationwide economist Robert Gardner said. "House price growth continues to outpace earnings, but the gap is closing, helped by a pickup in annual wage growth." (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)