House prices fall slightly in Feb
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UK house prices fell slightly in February but increased 7.4 per cent year on year, according to UK house price statistics from Communities and Local Government.
The figures show house prices fell marginally, down 0.1 per cent on January’s estimates.
In February 2010 the average house price in the UK stood at £204,359.
House prices rose by 2.9 per cent in the quarter ending February 2010. This compares with a larger rise of 3.4 per cent for the quarter ending November 2009.
Annual average house prices rose 7.9 per cent in England, 4.2 per cent in Scotland and 4.7 per cent in Wales. Northern Ireland experienced an annual house price fall of 8.3 per cent.
The average house prices paid by first time buyers in February 2010 were 9.3 per cent higher than a year ago.
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Readers' comments (1)
Robert Rizzo | 14 Apr 2010 2:38 am
I have been trying to buy a house for the past 3 years and have noticed increasingly that estate agents have consistently increased house prices to conpensate for an expected reduced offer from a buyer.
I have viewed houses advertised for £264,995 and made offers of £245.000 and was immediately accepted and this is in places like Reading in Berkshire, this average house price increase or fall does not take into account the negotiating skill of the buyer or the seller, in certain places some agents still beleive that their area is superior to another down the road and consistently apply extremely high values to properties that have no hope in hell of achieving these values hence the reason why so many properties are on the market for 9 and 12 months.
What is the point of asking £255,000 or £260,000 when the agent knows very well that he will be offered a maximum of £250,000 since the difference is an extra 3% in duty?
Moreover, I have experienced a lot of agents attempting to force me to go ahead and make an offer after viewing the property for just ten minutes, on several occasions I have asked for a second viewing a few days later only to be told that they recomended the seller to accept a lower offer the day before in order to secure a sale rather than chance me refusing the next day. On one occasion I discovered that the seller was upset that he was convinced to accept an offer £10,000 lower than mine having been told that I was not a reliable buyer, I was extremely upset as the agent knew that I was in fact a cash buyer.
Finally, I noticed that a lot of older experienced agents have recently been replaced by very young, totally inexperienced sales staff albeit at much lower wages, who have no idea how to handle a buyer properly consequently loosing sales by being late for appointments or refusing to make appointments if they coincide with their personal plans, such as too near lunch or going home times and even saving viewings just for friends or relatives.( very common among ethnic minorities who want to live near each other)
I am extremely upset that house prices are regulated by inexperienced valuers who assume that prices will always go up and also that most people are looking to invest only for future growth. A quarter of a million pounds straight out of a savings account at the age of 67 is not so easy to hand over on a whim, for a pile of bricks some smart ass young kid reckons is worth that much without allowing you the oportunity to examine the area, the structure, the neighbours, and the viability of the property as suitable for your needs. So, please estate agents everywhere do not take it as gospel that most cash buyers will buy immediately nor that simply because you read somewhere that house prices went up by x % you can automatically increase the valuation in your area, these increases are an average countrywide not necessarely in your backwater.
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