Prices in the three months to May compared to the previous three months were 3.1% lower. The rate of decline on this measure has slowed however, from the 5-6% recorded consistently between June 2008 and January 2009.
House prices in May were 16.3% lower on an annual basis. The annual rate of change (measured by the average for the latest three months against the same period a year earlier) fell from 17.7% in April to 16.3%.
Improvements in affordability have helped to raise the proportion of first-time buyers entering the market. First-time buyers accounted for 40% of all those purchasing a home with a mortgage in March; the highest percentage since April 2005.
Commenting, Nitesh Patel, housing economist, said: "It is always important not to place too much weight on any one month's figures. Historically, house prices have not moved in the same direction month after month even during a pronounced downturn. For example, prices fell by 11% nationally during 1991 and 1992, but there were five monthly price rises in this period.
“There are some tentative indications of a possible stabilisation in activity, albeit at a low level. Bank of England industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase - a leading indicator of completed house sales - increased by 19% between the final quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Approvals in the three months to March were 45% lower than in the same period in 2008.”
