DCLG: October house prices down 7.4%
House prices continue fall
Tuesday, 09, Dec 2008 02:14
The government today released further data confirming the collapse of the property market.
The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) reported the average home now costs £203,539- a drop of 7.4 per cent on a year ago.
In the three months to October, house prices were down 5.3 per cent - compared to 1.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
Annual average house prices fell in England (7.3 per cent), Wales (7.8 per cent), Scotland (4.5 per cent) and Northern Ireland (20.5 per cent).
Annual average house prices paid by first-time buyers in October 2008 were 9.7 per cent lower than a year ago.
However, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today show the size of mortgages they must borrow has grown.
Average house prices paid by former owner occupiers were 6.6 per cent lower.
The highest average house price in October remained in London at £318,831. The lowest average price was in the north-east at £138,575.
"With the recession now taking hold, unemployment rising, and lending criteria still tight, new buyers will be searching for bargains," said Seema Shah, property economist at Capital Economics.
"As such, they are more likely to add downward pressure to house prices rather than bid them up. Overall, we expect house prices to fall a further 20 per cent in 2009."