LONDON: British house prices rose at their weakest annual rate in ten years in July as homeowners desperate to move dropped their asking prices, a survey showed today.
Wednesday, July 20th 2005, 8:29AM
by The Landlord
According to a monthly survey by Rightmove, the average asking price for a property fell to £196,649 ($NZ518,452) in July, a decline of 1.0 per cent from June, and a rise of just 0.2 per cent from a year ago.
In June, annual house price inflation was 2.4 per cent, with a monthly rate of 0.2 per cent.
House prices are a key economic indicator in Britain, where a buoyant market in recent years boosted consumer confidence.
"Sellers are now realising they have to compromise some degree of their gains in order to sell their properties," said Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Rightmove.
"This common sense is a vital step along the road to an orderly recovery of the property market, particularly if combined with an interest rate cut," he added.
