Houses prices fell for sixth consecutive month in March

According to a recent report March saw house prices across the UK fall for the sixth consecutive month, with the average house price in England and Wales dropping to £174,100, which reflects a rise of just 0.4% over the year according to officials from Hometrack. Around 30% of postcode districts saw a fall in house prices. Annual House price growth reached its lowest in twelve years, with prices just 1.1% more than they were one year earlier.

House prices are set to continue falling, amidst the chaos caused in the housing and mortgage markets as a result of the global credit crunch, which has led to lenders tightening their criteria significantly, and has also led to stretched affordability amongst consumers. The data showed that there had also been a significant slowdown in the number of people registering onto estate agency books in March compared to the figure for February.

One official involved with the research said: ‘Some bounce-back in market activity was inevitable after what has been a prolonged period of weak market activity. However the growth in demand over the last two months is only a third of the level seen in previous years so the spring market is likely to be a non event this year. Continued uncertainty in the financial markets, affordability pressures and weak buyer confidence are all likely to suppress levels of market activity in the months ahead with pricing levels remaining under pressure.’

Many industry professionals have made predictions relating to the movement of house prices over the next couple of years, and some have suggested that house prices could fall by up to 20% over this time period.

More details:

• Could HSBC help you with its Rate Matcher mortgage?
•  House prices suffer first annual drop since 90s
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