Nationwide survey shows house price decline
The Nationwide property survey has today revealed that UK property prices fell by 0.9% between July and August which appears to show the rate of decline is speeding up from 0.5% in July. While the year on year increase in UK property prices still stands at 3.9% this is down sharply from the 6.6% in July and the even greater 8.7% in June. All in all, there is no doubt that the UK property sector is at the very best starting to cool and at the worst on the verge of a downward spiral.
While it is dangerous to place too much emphasis on month by month figures in relation to any investment or any indicator, it is the significant fall in the year on year increase in UK property prices which is causing great concern. This comes at a time when UK consumers are looking to repay their debt rather than take out further mortgages and loans - which are vital elements for the eventual recovery in the UK economy.
Only a few weeks ago a number of property surveys appeared to be giving very different signals although slowly but surely they all appear to be coming into line with the indication there are some choppy times ahead for the UK property sector.
Share this..
Related stories
Property buyers holding off until election
In a sign of the times estate agents have warned economists and analysts that homebuyers appear to be holding off in the run-up to the general election. This warning from the property sector would seem to confirm recent surveys which show that house prices appear to have stagnated after a drop in activity within the sector. In reality this particular type of strategy by property buyers is under...
Read MoreSo when will the housing slump end?
It is very much a case of history repeating itself with a number of experts now stepping forward to call the imminent end of the housing slump. But hold on a second, have we not been here before about 6 months ago? Or was it just 3 months ago?
We are seeing more and more experts crawling out of the wood work at an alarming rate to try and grab the headlines by calling the bottom of...
Minister calls for an end to the boom and bust UK property market
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 investo...
Read MoreLondon sales 'driving' house prices
Sales of London property are continuing to drive up house prices elsewhere in the country, according to the government's Land Registry.The average price of a home in the capital reached £335,658 in May, compared to £180,594 for the rest of England and Wales, the agency said.As a result the registry's monthly house price index was pushed up to 219.6 points a level which represents an annua...
Read MoreRepossession Orders Up 24% As Housing Market Crumbles
News that repossession orders have increased by 24% in the second quarter of 2008 has prompted furious criticism of the government's no-action stance with the Tories and Liberal Democrats joining forces in an onslaught against Labour. While the number of recession orders hit 28,658 for the second quarter of 2008, this is still well down on the 51,037 quarterly figure reached at the pinnacle of th...
Read More