House prices 'will fall by 10% in 2009'

15-Dec-2008

Asking prices for UK homes will fall by a further ten per cent in 2009, an online property firm has predicted.

Rightmove has published statistics which show that the average price for a house in England and Wales has fallen by £24,692 since May, which is equivalent to a 10.2 per cent drop in value.

In addition, the organisation predicts that house prices will fall by an additional ten per cent in the new year before the market 'bottoms out'.

The trend could mean that more potential first-time buyers could take advantage of the economic downturn by purchasing homes at lower costs.

"On the basis that prices actually being achieved have fallen by a quarter, we predict that overall prices are now within ten per cent of bottoming out," said Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove.

Barclays chief executive John Varley has also told Sky News that he predicts UK property values to slide by between ten and 15 per cent in 2009.

This could mean that now is a good time to get on to the property ladder, perhaps by considering shared ownership or parental help in funding a good deposit - which might boost people's chances of securing their mortgage.

FirstRungNow.com - how to buy a house, from finding your first flat or first house, first time buyer mortgages, shared ownership, buying with friends, gifted deposit, part buy part rent - all a first time buyer could possibly need.

Shared ownership boost for FTBsFirst-time buyer mortgage borrowing increaseGovt loans to help first-time buyers

2012: Feb | Jan

2011: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2010: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2009: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2008: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2007: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2006: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2005: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | Jul | Jun | May | Apr | Mar