House prices fell by 1.5% in October, and annually by 10.1%, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry. This is the 14th consecutive monthly fall, says the report, putting the average house in England and Wales now at £165,529, a level comparable to prices in the summer of 2006.

Price falls in London were steeper than the national average, with a monthly fall of -1.9%, but Wales saw the steepest falls of all, with a 2.8% monthly drop contributing to a 12% fall in prices year-on-year.

Sales volumes also remain low, the Land Registry confirmed.   

Seema Shah, property economist at Capital Economics, said the figures paint a bleak picture going into 2009: ‘The outlook for house prices remains extremely bleak. In our view, neither the chancellor’s fiscal stimulus nor interest rate cuts will ward off a deep recession or prevent unemployment from rising, while the housing market still looks overvalued.

‘In short, further sharp house price falls are on their way.’

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