Main Site Navigation

• current accounts
• savings
• credit cards
• insurance
• loans
• mortgages
• investments
• pensions

You are here: > Home > Mortgage > Mortgage News

search:    

House prices down by 2.5%

Wednesday 9th April 2008

Property prices across the country are down by an average of 2.5 per cent, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

The financial services provider bases its figures on house purchases for the previous calendar month, with about 15,000 sales taken into account.

For March, the monthly trend detected is a downwards one - although prices are still 1.1 per cent higher over the previous year.

Of the nations 12 regions, only three are shown as being down since March 2007, with the south-west, West Midlands and Wales all recording modest drops.

All three are down in this months survey, along with Northern Ireland, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Chief economist at Halifax Martin Ellis says: "We expect there to be a modest fall in UK house prices this year.

"Any declines, however, should be viewed in the context of the significant price rises over recent years; the average UK price has risen by £120,860 during the past decade."

Low interest rates, a lack of available housing and a strong labour force are all proposed as reasons why such growth has been supported over the past ten years.

However, such assertions could come as cold comfort for those facing the risk of negative equity and who are locked into a fixed-rate deal arranged while the Bank of Englands base rate was at its peak.

Recent research from Experian shows that the north-west, West Midlands and Yorkshire are among the areas most at risk from negative equity.

In some regions more than two-thirds of households are identified by the credit reference agency as being vulnerable to falling property prices.©

Other related stories