30 June 2008House prices down 2.5% over first half of 2008
Transaction volumes set to fall to levels not seen since 1970s
House prices fell again in June - the ninth consecutive fall in a row. Average house prices were down by 1% over the month and by 2.5% over the first half of 2008. On a year on year basis the annual rate of growth fell to -3.2 the lowest level since September 2005.
Continued loss of confidence undermines activity levels and prices....
A continued loss of confidence in the market has seen new buyer registrations fall further - since the beginning of the credit crunch new buyer registrations have fallen back by 52%. This in turn has led to a sizable drop in transaction volumes and these now look set to reach levels not seen since the 1970s.
Moreover, falling levels of demand and a continued growth in the supply of homes for sale has had the effect of undermining values.
And across the country...
Compared with recent months, the extent of price falls increased over June - agents reported lower prices across 83% of the country.
The largest falls were seen in London where values fell by an average of -1.3%, followed by the South East (-1.1%).
Time taken to sell increases...
The latest survey also shows a further increase in the time taken to sell a property - this now stands at 10.3 weeks up from just 6 weeks in January 2007.
Further falls in the proportion of asking price being achieved...
In June the proportion of asking price being achieved stood at 91.6% down from 95.6% a year ago.