House Prices

House prices fell by 1.3% in April and prices were 0.9% lower on an annual basis, according to the Halifax House Price Index.

Following the release of the Halifax house price index, Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), said: "Whilst the report shows a modest decline in prices, this is a small proportion of the substantial prices in recent years.

The latest figures by Nationwide Building Society confirms the softer tone to the residential property market, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist comments: The scaling back of loan to value ratio by lenders is depressing turnover in the market and is making it particularly difficult for first time buyers to take their first step on to the property ladder.

Following the release of the Nationwide report Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP) said: "This needs to be put into context.

April was another difficult month for the housing market. Falling levels of market activity meant that prices fell by 1.1% during the month and ended up 1% lower than this time last year, according to the Nationwide Building Society.

In January, Fool.co.uk predicted that house prices would fall 20% this year slashing the average price of a home in Britain from £196,000 to £153,400. We still maintain that property values will revert to mean.

Following the release of the RICS housing market survey, Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) called for steadiness amongst property market professionals and said that there are still strong economic factors underpinning the market that have not changed and that there is some good news.

The balance of Chartered Surveyors reporting house prices falls increased to an historical low in March.

The country house sector showed negative price growth for the second consecutive quarter, with prices falling 0.2% in the three months to the end of March, according to the Knight Frank Prime Country House Index.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, says: “The abrupt monthly fall of 2.5% underlines Fool.co.uk’s position that the long overdue correction in house prices could see the value of the average home drop by as much as 20% this year.

Commenting on the Halifax house price data, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "The sharp fall in the Halifax house price index in March highlights the growing pressure on the residential market as lenders continue to scale back their activity in the market.

House prices fell by 2.5% in March, prices in Quarter 1 were 1.0% lower than in 2007 Quarter 4, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. House prices in March were 1.1% higher than a year earlier.

House prices in England and Wales remained static during February, with no monthly price change, according to the latest figures from Land Registry. The average house price stands at £185,616.

Commenting on Nationwide house price data, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "The fifth consecutive monthly drop in house prices is indicative of the shift in sentiment towards the property market.

House prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in March. The price of a typical house fell by 0.6% during the month, bringing the annual rate of house price growth down to 1.1% - its lowest rate since March 1996, according to figures from the Nationwide Building Society.

Properties in Merthyr Tydfil have recorded the largest gain in average price per square metre (m²) over the past five years, according to research from Halifax Estate Agents.

The balance of Chartered Surveyors reporting house prices falls increased to near historical levels in February and stock piles rose to levels not seen for a decade, says the latest RICS’ UK housing market survey.

House prices fell by 0.3% in February, prices in the three months to February were 0.2% higher than in the previous quarter, according to the Halifax house Price Index.

Commenting on the Nationwide house price data, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "The index compiled by the Nationwide Building Society has declined for four consecutive months and we expect this trend to persist for a while to come.

UK house prices fell by 0.5% during February, bringing the annual rate of house price growth down to 2.7%, according to the Nationwide Building Society.

House prices in England and Wales increased by 0.9 per cent in January according to the latest monthly figures from Land Registry.

The balance of surveyors reporting house price falls increased again in January, says the latest RICS’ UK housing market survey.

House prices were unchanged in January, prices in the three months to January were 1.0% lower than in the previous quarter, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

The best performing county in terms of house price growth over the past ten years is County Armagh, according to the Halifax County House Price Survey.

Commenting on today's Nationwide house price figures, David Stubbs, RICS senior economist said: "Today’s numbers confirm the continuing slowdown in the UK housing market.