LONDON: British house prices in March marked their strongest pace of growth since 2004, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Thursday. House prices increased by 1.1 percent month-on-month in March, Nationwide said. Prices were 14.3 percent higher than their level a year ago, compared with a median forecast of a 13.5 percent rise according to a Reuters poll of economists. “The housing market has retained a surprising amount of momentum given the mounting pressure on household budgets and the steady rise in borrowing costs,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said in a statement.