House prices fall for 13th month in a row

House prices in England and Wales fell during July for the 13th month in a row, completing a full year of tumbling market conditions.

14:42 25 July 2005

House prices in England and Wales fell during July for the 13th month in a row, completing a full year of tumbling market conditions.

According to research by property website Hometrack which took data from estate agents and assessed the condition of the market based on these findings, house prices in the UK have fallen 3.7 per cent in the past 12 months.

The average price of a house in the UK has fallen to 161,300, 7,400 less than when prices peaked in June of last year.

While prices continue to fall, Hometrack did note that there was an increase in activity in the market, with a three per cent rise in the number of agreed sales.

John Wrigglesworth from Hometrack said: "The market is showing no signs of recovery. While housing transactions have grown slightly all other indicators; prices; time to sell; numbers of buyers, etc; are worsening.

"While interest rates are now expected to reduce next month, this has so far not fed through to increased buyers," he continued.