Limited home loan availability contributes to house price fall

30 January 2009

New figures have shown that the average price of a property in the UK is now 16.6% lower than this time last year.

The figures from Nationwide Building Society also showed that house prices fell by 1.3% between December and January. The monthly fall is smaller than December’s 2.5%, but over three times larger than November’s 0.4% fall.

Nationwide’s senior economist Martin Gahbauer said that while the quarterly trend was improving, it is “too early to say that this marks the start of a sustained improvement in the short-term trend”.

A spokesperson for Think Money said: “Although interest rates on home loans have dropped, there have been no clear signs of increasing availability yet – and the recovery of the housing market depends heavily on lenders offering greater volumes of loans.”

---

Think Money work with a panel of lenders to offer a range of loans. If you are thinking about getting a loan, contact one of our expert loan advisers today.

Tags: loan, loans, home loans, mortgage, mortgage loans, nationwide, nationwide mortgage

Fees payable when continuing service is provided. Repaying debt over a longer period may increase the total amount to be repaid. Calls are recorded and are usually free from UK landlines. Mobile phone users may be charged and should check with their service provider.