House prices show first annual fall since 2009

Prices for residential property in England and Wales showed their first year-on-year fall since September 2009 according to property marketing company Rightmove.

House prices advertised via its website -- which covers about 90 percent of homes sold via estate agents -- are 0.3 percent lower this month than in August 2010, at an average UK price of £231,543. Compared to last month prices are 2.1 percent lower, in part reflecting a seasonal lull. Rightmove said that average asking prices were just 4.1 percent lower than the peak before the start of the financial crisis in 2007.

The number of sellers is 30 percent lower, as low interest rates and relatively stable employment have meant few sellers have been compelled to cut prices to levels affordable to buyers, who have much less access to mortgage finance than before the crisis. Other surveys of property selling prices similarly show average prices a few percent lower than a year ago.

APA would like to know if Members are experiencing particular difficulty buying or selling property; especially in and around major employment zones, for its discussions with the Housing Minister.

APA