British house prices fall at fastest rate on record: survey

AFP

House prices in Britain plunged 12.4 percent in September compared with the same month in 2007, the biggest drop on record, home loans provider Halifax said Thursday in a monthly survey.


Halifax, part of British banking group HBOS, said it was the sharpest 12-month drop since the series began in 1983, or 25 years ago.



Prices sank by 1.3 percent in September from August -- the smallest monthly drop in the past seven months.



The average cost of a property in Britain fell to 172,108 pounds (220,357 euros, $298,367) in September.



"The ongoing pressures on householders income, combined with the reduction in the availability of mortgage finance ... mean that market conditions will remain challenging," Halifax said in its report.



Capital Economics analyst Seema Shah predicted that the property market faces further steep falls.



"With the economy set to continue deteriorating sharply and lending criteria likely to remain tight, we think the correction will continue full steam ahead."



Shah added: "The bottom line remains the same: house price falls still have much further to go."