House prices are starting to fall – new figures show

Residential property prices are falling across the UK, led by inner London where they have dropped by 10.4% in the last two months, representing a loss of £82,000 in average listing prices, new research from TwentyEA shows.

Many regions outside London are now seeing prices firmly starting to fall, with an average reduction in prices of 4.5% in the last month (c£17k or c£21k since June 2022).

The data provides a clear indication that there is a slowdown in the market, after months of property price growth.

 TwentyEA Research: Instruction Prices – Regional Instruction Prices

Stuart Ducker, strategic solutions director of TwentyEA, commented: “London has seen a significant drop in instruction prices, while the South East is closely behind (-9.8%), followed by Wales (-6.7%), Scotland (-5.6%), the East of England (-4.1%).

“Over the last five years, London prices [despite the recent falls] have still risen 11.6% [or £80,000], so this does put the recent drop into perspective.

“So why are asking prices starting to fall across all UK regions (save Northern Ireland)?  There is one main answer to this question and that is consumer confidence being low.  This is a result of several factors such as the cost-of-living crisis, which has impacted the pound in your pocket being worth less than it was; relative Government instability, which often promotes uncertainty about the future; the general affordability of housing (especially for first time buyers); and the relative increase in the supply of properties for sale.”

SOURCE: Property Industry Eye | AUGUST 31, 2022 | MARC DA SILVA