LONDON (MNI) – UK house prices fell and activity slowed in
December, with agreed sales falling and properties spending longer on
the market.
House prices fell 0.2% on the month to stand down 2.1% on the year.
The survey, one of the early ones for December, found evidence of a
cooling market outside some London hotspots.
The average length of time a property spent on the market was 10.1
weeks, up from 9.9 in November and the longest time on the market since
January.
Some of the fall in activity may be due to seasonal effects. The
average length of time a property was on the market rose in December
2010 to 10 weeks from 9.8 in November, and while it rose in December
2009 it fell in December 2008.
The number of new properties listed fell by 3.4% in December and
sales agreed fell by 0.9%.
The Hometrack survey comes after Rightmove’s December housing
survey, which found house asking prices fell sharply on the month,
dropping 2.7% to stand up 1.5% on the year.
Hometrack said London prices were up 1% on the year in December and
by more than 5% in wealthier areas, preventing a sharper fall in the
national average. The vast majority, 78%, of postcodes saw price falls.
Demand faded in the housing market as the year progressed, with new
buyer registrations rising 14% in the first half of the year and falling
11% in the second and declining 6.3% in December alone.
The Hometrack survey is not based on actual sales prices but on
estate agents (realtors) and surveyors’ estimates of what are
achievable selling prices.
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491 e:mail drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,MABDS$]
