Monday 29th October 2007
The fallout from the recent credit crunch is causing house prices to stop growing for the first time in seven years, it has been claimed.
Figures published by the Land Registry observe a marginal fall in growth to 0.4 per cent over the course of September.
But this contributes to a "noticeable dip" in annual house price inflation, from 9.3 per cent in the previous four months to 8.7 per cent in the latest data.
And the centre for economics and business research (cebr) predicts that the slowdown is likely to continue in the run-up to Christmas and during early 2008.
Some boroughs of London - the region with the highest annual price growth - actually experienced a decrease last month, the Land Registry reveals.
"Bexley experienced the most significant monthly price fall during September with a movement of -0.2 per cent," the industry body asserts.
At the top end of the market, high-value properties continue to increase in number, the report adds.
Some 888 properties were sold for more than £1 million in July 2007, an increase of 44 per cent over the same period a year ago.
Houses worth more than £2 million grew by an even greater proportion, up by 75 per cent over the year to 196 individual sales.
Laurent Souron, economist at cebr, forecasts "an end to 29 consecutive quarters of house price growth" as the credit crunch tightens market conditions.
"However, the market will soon shrug off these slight woes to record rates of growth in line with the recent past," the economist advises.
©
Request FREE brochures from leading Real Estate Agents on properties abroad.
