House prices 'fall 1.6 per cent'
House prices fell by 1.6 per cent in February, new government figures reveal.The new report, from the Department of Communities and Local Government, also showed that the annual rate of property inflation was down to 6.7 per cent.This forms a 1.3 per cent drop from January's figure - and is indicative of the difficulties buyers are having with securing a mortgage in the credit crunch.Overall, the average cost of property in the UK for February was found to be £217,737.Analysts forecast an overall drop in house prices of up to ten per cent in 2008, the Times reports.Speaking to the newspaper, Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: "The likelihood of a sharp house price correction will also rise if both sellers and buyers start expecting it to happen, which is becoming a very real threat given all the current high profile bad news about mortgages and the housing market."
Share this..
Related stories
Now is the time to plan your financial future
As the UK economy continues to flounder possibly the last thing on your mind will be financial planning for the future. However, with interest rates lower than ever before and banking finance very scarce on the ground maybe now is the time to review your financial affairs and get them in order for the future. It is quite literally time to batten down the hatches and arrange your finances for what...
Read MoreRent arrears fall as market improves
The National Landlords Association has this week issued a statement regarding rent arrears in the UK rental market. While there is still a significant number of tenants owing rent arrears, with a figure of around 20% quoted by the association for the second quarter of 2010, this is well down on the 24.5% during the first quarter of 2010. So is this a turning point for the UK property market? Wh...
Read MoreWhy did Bernard Madoff plead guilty so quickly?
Never in the history of serious fraud cases has there been such a situation as we saw yesterday when Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty within seconds of receiving the charges against him. While the evidence against him had been building for some time, nobody expected Madoff to plead guilty and it is a mystery as to why he has chosen to do this at this time. Is there more to this story than meets the e...
Read MoreOFT Releases Results of 'Scamnesty'
Around £3.5 billion is being defrauded from Britons by email, phone and letter con artists each year, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced.The report, released yesterday, shows that a total of three million people are falling victim to the fraudsters - but that just five per cent alert the authorities to the scams. As part of the study, the OFT also released the results of its February...
Read MoreBoris Johnson highlights problem for UK hedge funds and private equity firms
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has today highlighted the fact that UK hedge funds and private equity firms could be up to €3.2 billion a year worse off if a European directive becomes law. In a blatant attempt to grab a slice of the UK financial market, EU regulators have introduced a new directive which will increase the cost of running hedge funds and private equity firms via a number...
Read More