–Hometrack: UK Aug House Asking Prices -0.3% m/m; +1.5% y/y
LONDON (MNI) – UK house asking prices fell for the second
consecutive month in August, with a surge of new properties coming onto
the market and weak demand conspiring to undermine prices, housing
market intelligence company Hometrack said.
The 0.3% monthly fall is the largest drop since April 2009 in the
Hometrack series.
House prices rose 1.5% on the year, slower than the 2.0% growth
seen in July, Hometrack said.
Hometrack said the monthly fall in prices was in part seasonal, but
added that the underlying trend has been downwards for the past six
months.
Demand for housing fell 2.2%, its second consecutive monthly drop.
The supply of new homes rose 2.4% in August – well above average for
what is typically a quiet month, according to Hometrack.
Property listings increased by 2.4% on the month, marking a
slowdown from July’s 3.6% rise.
The rate of growth in the volume of sales agreed fell sharply in
August, dropping to 0.8% from 3.7% seen prior. The average time for a
property on the market increased to 8.9 weeks, up from the 8.7 week
average seen in July.
The steepening rate of decline in monthly prices reflects the trend
seen in the Rightmove House Price survey which saw prices fall 1.7% on
the month in August, versus a 0.6% drop in July.
In its August survey, Rightmove also blamed oversupply and a lack
of buyers combined for the biggest monthly drop in asking prices seen so
far in 2010
Hometrack expects market conditions to remain poor with further
modest price falls likely in the coming months, as prices have not yet
fully adjusted to longer sales periods, rising supply and faltering
demand.
–London Bureau; Tel: +442078627492; email: wwilkes@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,MABDA$,MABDS$,MT$$$$]
