The analysis of the UK housing market by Home.co.uk reveals that the average property asking price in England and Wales in September is £250,971, which is £2,380 less than in August. At 0.9%, this is the largest monthly fall so far this year and the market looks set to worsen as ‘secondary effects’ of the credit-crunch kick-in.
“Unemployment and inflation are now rising at alarming rates,” noted Doug Shephard, business development director at Home.co.uk. “This is certainly bad news for the UK housing market, as it dashes any hopes of a near-term recovery.”
The report also shows that house prices’ downward slide has been steepening over recent months. The third quarter of 2008 saw asking prices fall by 2.0% across all regions and was by far the toughest for sellers so far this year. The worst hit region was the Greater London area, in which the average asking price has plunged some 3.2% since June, which equates to a loss of market value of around £11,000.
Over the same period, Wales and the North East of England have suffered the least, of all the UK regions, with comparatively minor nominal falls in market house prices of 0.4% and 0.9%.
In the last year, asking prices for homes in England and Wales have fallen 2.5%, which in real terms the fall is around 7.5% when the effect of soaring inflation is taken into account.
“House price corrections are always painful but they are an essential step on the road to recovery for any housing market,” added Doug Shephard. “A smaller number of properties are still selling but only when realistically priced.”
