January House Price Fall Confirmed

House prices fell slightly during January, new figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have revealed.

The price of the average house in the UK fell for the third consecutive month by just £110 to £178,796, according to the figures. The top end of the market appears to be worst affected, with the values of detached and semi-detached houses falling at a faster rate than prices of terraced houses and flats.

Sabina Kalyan at housing market specialists Capital Economics said that January?s fall was unusual: ?These numbers are not seasonally adjusted, making it difficult to interpret the underlying movement in prices from one month to the next. However, the start of the year is usually the most active period for the housing market, suggesting that, if anything, these numbers underplay the weakness of the market,? she said.

The strength of the Welsh property market continues, following an increase annual inflation. However, every other region in the UK, except London, the North West and the East Midlands, suffered declines.