Property Price drop accelerates

Property price drop has accelerated
By PA News
September 02 2008
Government help for homebuyers follows 12 months which have seen prices tumble and loans restricted.

- The average UK property has lost 10.5% of its value during the past 12 months, the biggest drop since the final quarter of 1990, according to Nationwide Building Society.

- Property prices fell by 1.9% in August following drops of 1.5% and 0.9% in July and June respectively.

- The average property in the UK currently costs £164,654.

- London house prices dropped by 5.3% in the last month, a report by property agent Rightmove showed.

- The top five worst affected areas in London, when comparing July to August, were Wandsworth, Brent, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Greenwich.

- Property firm Savills said profits in its estate agency slumped 88% during the first half of this year.

- Buyers are currently putting down average deposits of 20%, falling to around 10% among first-time buyers, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

- Figures show that 144,400 first-time buyers got on the property ladder between August last year and the beginning of this year, and many of these could now find themselves in negative equity.

- Around 552,000 people bought a property with a 100% mortgage between the beginning of August last year and the end of March, meaning they have no equity cushion against house price falls.

- The Halifax estimate 300,000 first-time buyers entered the market in 2007, the lowest since 1980. This compares with an estimated 900,000 at the peak in 1988.

Related links
The government's plan, region by region
Govt raises stamp duty threshold for a year
Why the government decided to act
Message board: has the government done enough?
Stamp duty relief Q&A