29
Oct
House prices down 0.1%
House prices in the UK and Wales have dropped for the first time in
two years, new figures have revealed.
According to figures from housing intelligence company Hometrack,
prices were down 0.1 per cent across the UK during October, with
property in the Midlands proving the only exception to the
trend.
The monthly downturn brought the average increase in house prices
down to 4.4 per cent from September's figure of five per
cent.
However, Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said
the dip did not signal a wider downturn and that other prevalent
factors such as shortage of supply will act as a bulwark against an
ongoing decline.
He said: "The fall in prices over October is not unexpected. After
several months of weaker buyer confidence, falling levels of demand
and declining sales volumes, prices were bound to be
affected.
"We expect further small price falls in the months ahead but these
are likely to remain limited as there remains no evidence of any
increase in the supply of homes for sale.
"If anything the current uncertainty appears to be resulting in a
decline in the numbers of homes coming to the market which is
likely to support underlying prices in the coming months."
