New figures published today show that property prices within the United Kingdom have fallen for the third consecutive month.
This dip in house prices is fuelling speculation in some quarters that the UK is heading for another so-called ‘double dip’ recession.
In the 35 days prior to September 11th, the average price of a house in the UK slipped to £229,767, down 1.1 per cent on the previous figure.
Homeowners putting their property on the market are asking much less for them – some have lowered the prices by as much as 3.4 per cent, or over £8,000 – which has had a devastating effect on the gains made in the first six months of 2010, reducing them by half.
These new figures are the newest addition to a run of bad news for people trying to sell their houses, as many estate agents report that they have never-seen-before numbers of unsold properties on the books.
This dip in asking prices has had the knock on effect of dropping the rate of inflation for house prices. The figure now stands at 2.6 per cent, down from Augusts’ 4.3 per cent.
Rightmove, who published the figures, highlighted the fact that although prices were falling and there exists a shortage of buyers due to more stringent lending criteria, the number of properties being put up on the market has also decreased.
As gloomy as these figures may be, it could turn out to be good news for those who are newly CeMAP qualified or are undertaking a CeMAP course; the lower asking prices will put many properties within reach of some buyers, and it is anticipated that these will be more conscious than ever of securing the best home loan through a mortgage advisor.
A property shortage was partly responsible for driving the recovery of the housing market in 2009, but despite the reduction in the number of people selling, the average number of houses on estate agents’ books stands at 79.
