Average house price declines £7,000 over the past 15 months: Hometrack |
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Mon, 24 Oct 2005 11:30
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LONDON: House prices continued their downslide in October, the sixteenth consecutive month, according to property site Hometrack.
The site’s survey found average house prices dropping by 0.1 percent, a slightly slower rate than was observed in September. Accordingly, the average house prices in the UK declined £7,000 to £160,700 from its level seen in June last year. It was also seen 3.5 percent lower Y-O-Y, better by a slim margin in September (3.7 percent).
However, there was a little more activity in the property market during October than was expected. The number of prospective buyers rose 2.1 percent which raised the total number of ‘buyers registering with estate agents’ by 22 percent over a period of 12 months.
Another sign that suggested the mood in the market could be improving was a 5.9 percent increase in sales transactions during the month. This could be explained as more buyers returned to the market; but considering the oversupply of houses, a turnaround seems a long way off. An increase of 1.9 percent was seen in the number of properties for sale during the month.
The property site’s housing economist John Wriglesworth said declines are inevitable over the next few months as the market continued to have an excess of supply. House prices are expected to decline 4 percent this year, he said, and will improve no sooner than the middle of next year, if the borrowing costs and employment levels remained stable.
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House prices hit nine-year low even as interest in property market surges 