House prices fell by 1% this month, says the latest report from property consultants Hometrack. This brings the UK to the 16th month of continued falls, with prices coming down 9.4% in the past twelve months.

The average time a property remains on the market rose again to 12.3 weeks which is a 45% increase on this time last year, while the proportion of asking price achieved sits at 88.3% compared with 93.5% a year ago.

London saw the largest fall in the past month of 1.1%, while East Anglia saw the smallest drop in house prices of 0.5%.

Richard Donnell, director of research for Hometrack said: ‘While the re-pricing process in the housing market has been underway for the last year, the reality is that over 2009 the market is at the mercy of the economy.

Purchasers remains few in number and cautious – some agents have reported potential buyers extending rental contracts for another six months to sit out the current uncertainty.’

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