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Home.co.uk

News: House Prices Fall 17.6%, Says Nationwide

Thu, 26 Feb 09

Property prices have fallen by 17.6% over the last 12 months, according to latest figures from the Nationwide building society.

The figures show a  fall of 1.8% in February, putting the price of the average home at just £147,746.

Despite recent figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showing a rise in buyer enquires due to a fall in interest rates, this is not being converted into sales, according to the Nationwide’s chief economist Fionnuala Earley.

She said: “Further cuts in rates will be welcome in the housing market, but the economic conditions that require them will mean that there is unlikely to be a swift turnaround in the housing market in 2009.”

The Nationwide’s figures also show that borrowers in the areas with the highest house prices are also seeing the biggest falls in mortgage repayments.

Those in London were seeing a cut of £350 in their bills on average, compared to around £175 for borrowers in the north of England.

Earley added: "It is too early to say that the market has reached its trough, given the economic recession. However, falling house prices and interest rates have made the situation for borrowers today much easier than it might have been."


UK house prices have, so far, fallen 20.6% since their peak in October 2007 (£186,044), according to mortgage approval figures from the Nationwide.


By Joe Lepper

See also  - Mortgages, House Price Indices, Asking Price Index, House Prices and Trends

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