House prices continue to drop
Published On 25 February 2008
New figures indicate that house prices in the UK fell for the fifth month running in February, potentially offering hope for people who have struggled to afford a mortgage and get onto the property ladder.Hometrack's figures showed that house prices dipped by 0.2 per cent in February. As a result, the annual rate of inflation fell to 1.4 per cent - its lowest level since April 2006.
However, the report did show that demand for properties and mortgages could be set to increase again. In fact, the firm's data indicated a rise of 7.9 per cent in new buyer registrations.
What's more, there was an 8.2 per cent increase in the volume of property listed in February. This followed a fall of 4.6 per cent during the previous month.
"The latest Hometrack survey shows a small yet important turnaround in demand over February," explained Richard Donnell, director of research at the company.
"The modest increase in new buyer registrations is evidence of firming demand, largely on the back of recent interest rate cuts."
Recently, Moneyfacts.co.uk noted that it was becoming harder for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder as many lenders were withdrawing their 125 per cent loan-to-value mortgages.
