There has been a 0.1% house price fall in November, according to The Halifax.
The Lloyds Banking Group subsidiary claims that the price for an average property is now 0.7% cheaper than it was this time last year. The UK average house price now stands at £164,708.
A major reason for this fall is that demand is not matching supply but in a reverse way where there are simply more properties available than there are buyers willing to purchase.
The US authorities have confirmed plans to investigate the foreclosure industry amid concerns about the activity of some underlying participants. There is concern in some quarters that legal procedures which were put in place to protect homeowners may have been compromised in the rush to push through property sales as quickly as possible. A number of foreclosure companies this week confirmed they would review their own procedures but this is not enough for the authorities to cancel a planned investigation.
Property expert Rightmove has today released an update on the UK property market which apparently shows that property prices were pushed up by 3% in October despite the fact that the economic backdrop is difficult to say the least and the mortgage market is starting to slow down. So how can we explain a 3% increase in asking prices for properties in the UK during October?
Even though the UK government has yet to clarify the vast majority of proposed cost savings from the public sector budget there is no doubt that the fear of public sector spending cuts is impacting upon the UK economy. One area which has been impacted more than most over the last few weeks is the UK housing market with buyers now retreating to the sidelines and many sellers pushing forward to take advantage of current prices.
UK housing minister Grant Shapps has fallen into a similar trap to that set for Gordon Brown by declaring that the UK government is looking to avoid the traditional boom and bust scenario in the UK property market. Time and time again politicians seem to ignore the fact that boom and bust economic cycles have been occurring forever and a day and ultimately they are down to the sentiment of investors and consumers.
The prominent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price index fell to -36 in the three months to September from -32 in the three months to August. This fall in the index reflects the fall in house prices in England and Wales and is the largest one-month fall since May 2009. While the drop is effectively blamed upon sellers rushing to the market to sell before further perceived weakness in the UK economy there is also no doubt that buyers are becoming more and more concerned with many retreating to the sidelines.
Reports that UK house prices on average fell by £6,000 in September 2010 were a bitter blow for the sector and have obviously injected some concern into the consumer market. However, is this the beginning of a sustained collapse in the UK housing market or nothing more than a temporary blip?
Today's revelation that the average property price in the UK fell by £6000 in September, compared to August, was a bitter blow for those hoping that the UK market would remain strong in the short to medium term. If we are seeing significant falls in the cost of property in the UK even before the vast majority of government austerity measures have kicked in, the situation in the short term does not look good. So is the UK property market on the verge of collapse?
The average price for a property in the UK now stands at £162,092 which represents a £6,000 fall between August and September. There is now growing concern that the UK property market has peaked in the short-term and against a backdrop of difficult economic statistics there is very little chance of a short-term recovery. However, the consequences of a £6,000 drop in the value of property in the UK could be very far reaching.
News that housebuilding in the UK has fallen for the first time in 12 months is a worrying sign for the industry and a worrying sign for the UK economy as a whole. A survey released today cast a very dark shadow over the sector with confirmation that orders fell in September for the fourth straight month, job losses are increasing and work rates on offer to subcontractors have been slashed of late. All in all it seems as though the miniboom in the UK housing sector only a few months ago is coming to an end.
