Prices Fall 2% in Five Weeks
The MPC's fourth and fifth rate rises are biting hard, according to the latest property market survey, with asking prices falling across the country.


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
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