House prices tumble to hit a two-year low - Halifax

Published 09th May 2011

House prices fell by 1.4 per cent during April, it was revealed by building society Halifax today.

The fall represents their fastest annual rate drop for 18 months during April as weak consumer confidence caused potential buyers to stay away from the property market.

The average cost of a home dived by 1.4 per cent during the month to stand at £160,395, the lowest level since April 2009, according to Halifax.

The latest slide led to property values being 3.7 per cent lower during the three months to the end of April than during the same three months of the previous year - the biggest annual decline since October 2009.

The fall came after warnings that house prices in Britain will fall for the next five years in the longest slump for at least half a century.

Property values in the UK are set to fall 4.5 per cent this year and 10.5 per cent by the end of 2015, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The five-year slump in real terms – after inflation has been taken into account – is the longest period of decline since records began in the 1960s.

Source: ' ThisIsMoney '

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