House prices 'falling'

This month has seen UK house prices fall in value by around one per cent, as people put plans to move on the backburner as a result of the freezing temperatures and snowy conditions, it has been revealed.

According to figures from Nationwide, the end of the stamp duty holiday may have been another factor in people opting against moving up the property ladder.

However, the group has claimed it is still too early to say whether February's figures represent a new trend for the housing market.

While in January, house prices increased in value by 1.4 per cent, February prices fell, although they remain 9.2 per cent higher than in the same month of 2009.

As a result, the average UK property now costs some £161,320 - which may still be well out of the affordable price range of many Britons.

Indeed, people may wish to wait and see whether prices slip further still before they begin looking to buy, by choosing flats to rent in Notting Hill or another part of London.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "New buyer enquiries dropped sharply in the new year and there was also an associated drop in the number of new mortgages taken out by homebuyers in January. This drop in demand seems to have fed into agreed prices during February."

Written by Ben Carter

Published 26th February, 2010

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