<p>UK house prices rose by 5.9% in 2009 according to Nationwide's house price index. The average cost of a home rose 0.4% in December to £162,103, the eighth month in a row that the index has shown price rises.</p> <p>The surprise annual rise is in contrast to the 15.9% decline in prices in 2008 recorded by Nationwide.</p> <p>Despite the rise, the Nationwide predicts that prices will change little over the next year. </p> <p>"This year's recovery has to some extent been driven by transitory factors and there are reasons to believe that it will lose momentum over the coming year," said Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer. "However, the experience of 2009 demonstrates how unpredictable the market is at the current juncture and one should always be prepared for the UK housing market to surprise." </p>