As the UK continues to face housing market pressures, Halifax’s September House Price Index released on Friday morning shows that the home prices are falling.
UK house prices fell by 0.4 percent in September, marking a sixth consecutive monthly fall. The annual home prices are down by -4.7 percent. An average UK home now costs £278,601.
Halifax said they saw lower instructions by sellers and mortgage costs continue to curtail activity. Halifax noted persistent declines in house prices they saw continuing into next year.
However, some saw an equilibrium building between homeowners wanting to sell and investors and first-time buyers entering the market.
Domestically, there remains a shortage of housing and the decrease in housing sales by home-owners is likely to “be offset by increased demand from renters and investors”, said Tom Brown, the Managing Real Estate Director at Ingenious in a statement provided for Investor Magazine.
Jonathan Hopper, CEO of Garrington Property Finders, further noted that:
“More and more sellers have accepted the reality that the market has shifted fundamentally since this time last year. The Halifax’s data shows that prices have fallen 4.7% in that time, and that the average home sold now is fetching £14,000 less than it would have when prices peaked last August.”
“While many sellers are now being more realistic in setting their asking price, we’re still regularly seeing homes go for tens of thousands under asking as proceedable buyers press home to their advantage”, he added.
