Third successive decline in house prices
Property asking prices fell again in January, according to the latest survey from Rightmove, making it the third consecutive monthly decline.
Asking prices were down 0.8% in the five weeks to 12 January but the fall was less than the 3.2% slide seen between November and December.
Annual house price inflation stood at 3.4% in January, its lowest rate since December 2005.
Rightmove said the average asking price for a home now stands at £230,428.
Despite the recent falls, Rightmove says there are signs of price stabilisation, given much of the fall can be explained by the rush of smaller properties to the market in mid December ahead of the HIPs deadline and a customary seasonal slowdown in the market.
Hips were launched on August 1 to include properties with 4-bedrooms or more and rolled-out to include 3-bedroom properties on September 10. They were then extended to included all properties on December 14.
“New listings are very low at this time of year, so the artificial wave of ‘low-end sellers’ has really distorted the average prices of new properties coming onto the market,” said Miles Shipside, commercial director of RightMove.
The company added that there had been a “marked increase” in activity and prices immediately after the new year as a result of lower prices and falling interest rates.
Mr Shipside said: “Some homebuyers are now able to find properties that have fallen into their affordability zone, and are bagging what they see as bargains against previous prices.
“Some properties have had their prices dropped by 10 per cent or more and are now within reach, satisfying some of the pent-up demand from previous disenfranchised buyers.”
Meanwhile, time on the market peaked at a record high of 98 days in December, but has declined to 95 days in the first weeks of January. The previous high was 93 days in January 2006.