House prices down 4.6% in August
Friday, 26 September 2008 12:00 AM
Average house prices declined by 4.6 per cent in August to £174,493, the sharpest annual fall since the Land Registry survey began.
House prices in England and Wales continued their downward trend in August, falling another 1.9 per cent from July to prices last seen in spring 2007, the agency said.
Hartlepool saw the sharpest falls in value, with the average price of a house in the north-eastern town down by 4.8 per cent to £117,350.
London properties also registered falls of 3.2 per cent, taking the average price to £336,620.
Regionally, the east saw the biggest annual falls in price, with the average house value down by 6.7 per cent in August.
The number of completed house sales also slumped over the summer, the Land Registry said, with figures for June showing a 56 per cent fall from last year.
Detached houses held their value the best, with an average 4.6 per cent fall in value, while flats saw the biggest decline of 5.5 per cent.
The data comes after the British Bankers' Association (BBA) reported mortgage approvals fell to their lowest levels ever in August.
"Clearly, there is no let up in the major downward pressure on house activity and prices stemming from the damaging mix of stretched buyer affordability and very tight lending conditions," said Howard Archer of Global Insight.
Dr Archer predicted house prices will fall by 15 per cent in 2008 and 12 per cent in 2009.
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