Property prices drop £22,000

Posted: 23 Dec 2008 11:56:57 GMT

The average property in Britain has seen £22,083 wiped from its value in 2008, it has been reported.

Recent research from property website Zoopla shows that one in ten homeowners are now victims of negative equity as a result of the house price falls this year.

Such a high rate of negative equity could lead to homeowners making a rush to exit the housing market to escape the threat of further losses in value.

Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla said: "Values have been declining every month for the past 18 months and, with further job losses predicted, increased repossessions and the continued decline in the number of people buying and selling properties, the bottom is not yet in sight.

"The reality is that some homeowners will face a very tough decision next year - whether to try and ride out further value declines and risk falling into further negative equity or cut their losses and sell before the price drops too far."

Those selling up and hoping for a timely transaction may benefit from putting a property online, which could attract more buyers than a traditional estate agent.



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