| House prices fall 12.4% in year |
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| 02 October 2008 | |
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House prices in Britain fell by 1.7% in September, the 11th consecutive monthly fall, bringing the annual drop in prices to 12.4%, Nationwide building society reports today. The average house price now stands at £161,797 - more than £20,000 lower than a year ago. Although the rate of decline in prices has stabilised, Nationwide said, the next year or two will be "difficult". The rate of fall, which was the same as in August, has remained relatively unchanged for the past three months.
How long the present “sharp correction” in house prices will last, and how deep the fall will be, depends largely on sentiment, as well as an end to the turmoil in the financial markets, according to Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist. In the long-term, she added, there was no reason why house prices should not continue to grow in real terms.
Nationwide figures for the third quarter showed an average fall in house prices across the country of 4.6%, with sharper drops in the south of England than the north. East Anglia and the South West showed the biggest annual declines - both of 11.4%. The fall in London was 5%, bringing the average house price there to £301,301.
Northern Ireland showed the steepest fall in prices: they are now 29.8% lower than a year ago. In Scotland, where house prices had risen in the second three months of the year, recorded a 5% drop between July and September.
Wales had the smallest drop in prices, with a quarterly fall of 1.9% in July to September.
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