House prices 'still falling sharply'

06/01/2009

The Nationwide house price index has recorded its biggest annual decline on record.

According to the lender, the value of the typical UK property was 15.9 per cent lower last month than it was in December 2007.

Property prices dropped by 2.5 per cent across the month, a far sharper fall than November's 0.4 per cent drop.

Overall, the typical home now costs just over £155,000 in the UK - equivalent to 2005 prices.

Property began to fall in value after the onset of the credit crunch in summer 2007, which saw mortgage loan provision constricted across the country.

"The disruption in the financial markets worsened throughout 2008 and had larger implications for the real economy than we anticipated a year ago," Fionnuala Earley, chief economist at Nationwide, said.

"We did not anticipate the speed of house price falls or the extent of the global and domestic economic slowdown."

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Young Family Finances,

• Share
• 
• 
• Store
• 
• Follow
•