House prices drop
Average asking prices for properties in England and Wales have dropped by 0.7 per cent - £1,656 - over the past month, according to the property website Rightmove. The average asking price for a home fell to £239,986 in November - down from £241,642 reported the previous month, adding fuel to suggestions that a slowdown in the housing market is starting to get underway. Prices fell in all regions across England and Wales, except in London, where high demand continued to push prices up by 2.3 per cent.Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: "Prices are set to flatline in 2008. While we do not expect a price drop overall, there will be parts of the country that are over-priced and over-supplied for the likely levels of affordability and demand next year." Rightmove has said an interest rate cut was needed to boost the number of sales, pointing to a slump in mortgage demand as further evidence that rates must come down.The average amount of time it took to sell a property also increased from 85 days to 92 days.
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