Prices Fall 2% in Five Weeks

Thursday, August 19 2004 The asking price of the average home has fallen by two percent in 5 weeks, with consecutive interest rate rises finally putting an end to the boom, the property website Rightmove.co.uk has reported. According to the research, the average asking price now stands at £192,335, having fallen from £196,198 in the five weeks prior to August 14. In a further demonstration of a cooling market, annual house price inflation has also fallen for the first time in seven months, and now stands at 15.7%. The falls were led by Wales and Greater London, reporting 6.8% and 4.3% decreases respectively. Northern areas are responding more slowly, with prices continuing to increase, but at a lesser rate than in previous months. Prices are up 1.3% in Yorkshire & Humberside (down from 3.0% last month) and up 0.4% in the North (down from 2.3%). Rightmove.co.uk obtain their figures from properties for sale that they advertise online on behalf of estate agents across the country. This accounts for around for around 50% of all homes currently on sale in the UK. Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, said: 'This is not a beginning of a long period of declining prices but rather a sign that the market is working the way it should do - responding to higher borrowing costs and responding to the effects of supply and demand: now there are, quite simply, fewer people out there looking to buy homes and more properties for them to purchase.' www.rightmove.co.uk