Homeowners see thousands wiped off their house price as an area loses an average of £15,000 a year
Homes have been wiped off their value by nearly £1,000 in the past month, it has emerged, and in one area they are worth an average of £15,000 less than a year ago.
Property prices are down 0.3 percent since June – the fourth consecutive monthly decline, according to Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender.
A typical house now costs £285,044, up from £285,932 in the previous month. Over the past year, the value of a typical home has fallen by 2.4 per cent, a drop of £8,948.
But property prices have plummeted faster in some areas, including the Southeast, where value fell 3.9 percent year-over-year.
An average house in the area is now worth £382,489 – about £15,500 less than 12 months ago.
Homes have been wiped off their value by nearly £1,000 in the past month, it has emerged (File image)
A typical house now costs £285,044, up from £285,932 in the previous month (File image)
But Kim Kinnaird, chief executive of Halifax Mortgages, said the market “continues to show some resilience despite difficult economic headwinds.”
She added: “Due to the continued tightness in affordability, limited market activity will continue and we expect house prices to continue falling next year.
“Based on our current economic assumptions, we expect it to be a gradual rather than precipitous decline. And one that is unlikely to fully reverse the house price rises of recent years, with average property prices still some £45,000 (19 per cent) above pre-Covid levels.”
The news comes after the Bank of England voted last week to raise interest rates to a 15-year high of 5.25 per cent in a bid to bring skyrocketing inflation back under control.
It fell to 7.9 percent in June, slightly below market expectations of 8.2 percent. As a result, experts now predict that base rates may not rise as high as previously feared.
According to interest rate analyst Moneyfacts Compare, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.84 percent today, with a typical five-year deal at 6.35 percent. But while borrowing costs are now stabilizing or even falling, they are likely to remain higher than homeowners have been accustomed to over the past decade, Halifax said. As a result, house prices will gradually fall further in the new year.
Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent Fine & Country, said: “The decline in inflation is improving the outlook for the real estate market, and while prices are likely to cool further, this should be much slower than initially forecast.”
August is the most popular month to move, according to a price comparison website for moving services. It has been the most popular month for the past 11 years, according to an analysis of more than 630,000 moving quotes collected by reallymoving.
The last Friday in August is the busiest day of the year to move house, the findings show.