Half way point reached in house price falls, says Rics

Posted: 05 Jan 2009 11:10:46 GMT

House prices have passed the halfway mark in their fall from their 2007 peaks, it has been suggested by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) in a recent report.

The Rics report suggests house prices will make peak-to-trough dives of 25 per cent before once again beginning their ascent.

Considering they have been widely reported to have dropped 15 per cent already, this forecast leaves room for a further ten per cent drop in value in 2009 alone.

"For homeowners - who tend to base prices changes against 'what they believed they could have put their home on the market for' in 2007 - it will feel more like a 30 per cent fall once asking prices are taken into account," read a Hometrack report, in an attempt to explain the negative view likely to be taken by homeowners.

Such news will do little to boost the confidence of homeowners hoping to sell a property, as with falling prices the chance of negative equity will put off most buyers, making it difficult to sell a home.

Those homeowners intent on selling quickly, however, may benefit from selling a property online, which could lead to more buyers seeing the property and could therefore lead to a higher asking price.

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