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UK House Prices Situation: Stagnating generally - slight
falls
UK
House Prices Forecast: At least 5% - 10% drop expected
by end 2009
"Sellers
Face Reality" - Rightmove Publishes Latest House
Price Figures
Leading
property website Rightmove has this week published its
latest house price index, charting asking prices for properties
placed on the market in the last month.
The
survey recorded a 0.1% fall in average asking prices over
the last month - as opposed to the 0.8% rise seen in March.
Rightmove's annual average increase fell from 5% in March
to 1.3% in April, while the average time on market for
each property increased from 82 to 85 days.
Rightmove's
regional breakdown of house prices showed
how buyers in some areas are still placing properties
on the market with increased asking prices - although
most evidence suggests that actual sale prices are at
best stagnating (prices in brackets are annual figures):
·
East Anglia: 5.5% (2.8%)
· West Midlands: 2.9% (0.0%)
· South West: 2.3% (2.1%)
· North: 0.8% (0.3%)
· East Midlands: 0.6% (0.6%)
· Wales: 0.1% (1.2%)
· Yorkshire & Humberside: 0.1% (-1.9%)
· South East: -0.1% (1.8%)
· Greater London: -0.9% (6.2%)
· North West: -1.4% (-4.2%)
Commenting
on the results, Rightmove Commercial Director Miles Shipside
said that "Buyers who have saved through the winter
and are now emerging to enter the spring market will find
there are deals to be had. It’s a buyers’
market, but only if that buyer is buying
for cash or can put down a good deposit."
Shipside
added that "In spite of challenging market conditions,
sales have not ground to a halt, and deals are still being
done."
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