House prices 'no better than flat for 2010'

Posted: 24 Mar 2010 10:44:42 GMT

UK house prices are set to remain virtually flat for the entirety of 2010, one expert has suggested.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, explains new "muted" data from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has reinforced suspicions that house prices will not rise for the rest of the year.

According to the BBA, the average house price in February was £140,800 - one per cent more than in January. Similarly, just 122 more mortgages were approved than in the previous month.

Mr Archer says: "We would not be surprised if house prices recorded an overall modest drop in 2010."

David Dooks, statistics director for the BBA, states that borrowing is not likely to increase without greater consumer confidence in the state of the housing market and the economy as a whole.

Meanwhile, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has recently advised that raising the necessary cash to secure a deposit on a home is still posing a major problem for many first-time buyers.

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