29
Feb
House price growth 'falling'
The property price boom of recent years is at an end and prices are
coming down, according to Nationwide's house price index.
Chief economist at Nationwide Fionnuala Earley noted that typical
house prices fell in February and brought the annual rate of growth
down to 2.7 per cent.
This was the fourth consecutive monthly fall and clearly marked a
trend, she said, although she added that the fall was a little
exaggerated because there has been an unseasonable boom in prices
in February 2007.
"The average price of a typical property now stands at
£179,358, an increase of £4,653, or £12.75 per day,
over the last 12 months," she said.
She concluded that the UK housing market would not see the massive
rise in prices it had over the last few years, but the economy
would continue to grow if the Bank of England's prediction are
correct.
Cheltenham & Gloucester has stated that it will not offer
consumers home loan deals if they do not have a deposit with ten
per cent of the overall value, reports the Times.
