Land Registry: UK house prices fall by 3.2% in last year
Monday, 28 November 2011 12:10
Land Registry's House Price Index for October has shown that the cost of property has decreased by 3.2 per cent in a year, dropping by 0.9 per cent between September and October 2011 alone.
The average value of a home in England and Wales is now £159,999, the organisation said.
Worst affected by price decreases was the north-east, which saw a decline of 7.2 per cent since 2010, although London fared better and registered an increase of 0.3 per cent.
As a whole, completed house sales reached 62,010 in August, the most recent month for which data is available, up by one per cent in 12 months.
Lucy Pendleton, managing director of estate agents James Pendleton, said: "Market and consumer sentiment have weakened quite dramatically since the late summer and this is clearly feeding through into prices.
"The UK property market, like so many other markets, is looking to Europe and what it sees isn't pretty."
However, she added that good prices are still available for desirable properties in sought-after areas.
IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer warned that there may be no let-up in the poor situation for some sellers in the near future.
"We currently see house prices falling by around five per cent from current levels by mid-2012," he commented.
Although Mr Archer acknowledged that inflation will fall and reduce the financial squeeze on consumers slightly, he pointed out this will be offset by rising unemployment and muted wage growth, meaning conditions are likely to remain tough.
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