Despite this, it was 0.8% higher than March 2012, with the typical UK home now worth £164,630.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
"House prices were unchanged between February and March after taking account of usual seasonal effects. However, in annual terms, house price growth moved into positive territory for the first time since February 2012."
Jonathan Samuels, CEO, Dragonfly Property Finance, remarked:
"No change for March according to the Nationwide but confidence is anything other than flat. With the Funding for Lending Scheme appearing to have had an impact, and Help to Buy on the horizon, there is a degree of expectation in the market.
"The worry is that sellers are becoming overly confident and are overestimating the value of their homes. Rightmove's latest house price index showed asking prices have soared over the past month or so.
"There is confidence and there is overconfidence. In many areas of the country we are tipping into the latter. The UK economy is still extremely weak, inflation cripplingly high and the latest jobs numbers, let's not forget, saw an increase in the number of unemployed.
"Add increased uncertainty in the Eurozone into the mix and the conclusion is that the perception surrounding the property market is disconnecting from the reality."
Ben Thompson, MD Legal & General Mortgage Club comments:
“Whilst the figures seem to suggest that prices are improving compared to 2012 and this is encouraging, the main issue for the housing market is not one of price. Instead the major concern is the availability of housing stock in the wider market and continuing to make the mortgage finance available to service that demand. We have seen the announcement of several stimulus measures in the shape of FLS and ‘Help to Buy’ and they seem set to provide a positive impact as the year progresses. The hope is that we can get the supply to match this undoubted demand.”
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says:
"For the first time in more than a year, house prices rose but the monthly numbers are less impressive, suggesting the market is mostly flat.London continues to buck the trend, with heightened competition in parts of the capital, particularly prime central London, and some significant price rises due to the sheer levels of demand.
"However, transactions continue to be well down on the height of the market, contributing to significant price discrepancies in some areas.
"On the lending front, the picture continues to improve with lower rates across the loan-to-value bands, giving us some of the cheapest mortgages ever seen. Lenders continue to cut rates and offer more choice at higher loan-to-values. This is increasingly important because of the other issues in the economy and will be essential if housing purchase activity is to be more robust this year than last.
"The outlook is still broadly positive, despite the persistence of wider economic pressures. The weakness of the pound and problems in Cyprus illustrate just how fragile the situation is. The Budget's measures to help those struggling to get on the housing ladder were welcome, although we still await some important details."
