Property prices 'drop in April'

Posted: 30 Apr 2009 11:38:14 GMT

Property prices in the UK have fallen this month, according to the latest figures from Nationwide Building Society.

The cost of an average home in the country now stands at £151,861, the financial services provider said.

Last month, Nationwide reported that prices increased for the first time in over a year, but today's announcement sees the figures return to their familiar downward pattern - dropping 0.4 per cent since March.

However, the building society's chief economist Fionnuala Earley suggested that a number of factors, including the government's recent decision to extend the stamp duty holiday on homes costing up to £175,000, may encourage buyers to the market.

"It is possible that the extended period of the higher threshold will be more of an incentive for first-time buyers to enter the market now that affordability has improved due to falling interest rates and house prices," she explained.

Meanwhile interest rates remain at a record low of 0.5 per cent, and are expected to stay that way for most of 2009.


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