Property Doom and Gloom
Posted by hasnain on 11 July, 2008
According to the Halifax, house prices in the UK fell by 2% last month, and prices are 6.1% lower than they were compared with this time last year.
The UK’s largest mortgage lender said the average home now costs £180,344, which is the same level as in August 2006.
House prices are on a downward spiral due to a lack of activity in the market said the lender. A decade-long housing boom and the ongoing mortgage squeeze are to blame for the latest monthly fall.
Recently, the lender predicted that UK property prices will fall by around 9% during 2008, after it revised its forecast from February when it said that the market would be flat this year.
Its rival, the Nationwide, said that house prices fell by 0.9% on average last month, with the average home costing 6.3% less than 12 months ago.
The news comes as further job losses have been announced in the housebuilding industry as Barratt’s is the latest to announce 1,200 job losses due to falling house prices and the lack of mortgages.
Yesterday, Bovis Homes and Redrow confirmed that they are shedding shed 400 and 550 jobs respectively. Earlier this week, Persimmon announced 2,000 job losses.
