'More consistency needed' on property prices

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:53:54 GMT

First-time buyers will be pleased with news property asking prices have gone down.

That is the view of chief executive of Firstrung Paul Holmes, but he also warned there is still a dislocation between the figure houses are put up at and the amount they are being sold for.

He observed sellers have a long way to go in getting values correct, as the Rightmove house price survey suggested the average cost of a dwelling is £250,000, while the Land Registry puts it at £155,000.

"Overall, I'm still very bearish on where I see property values in the next two years and I still think that we have at least another 20-25 per cent correction heading our way," Mr Holmes added.

He also explained home purchases may be put to one side after the government indicated 600,000 civil servants could lose their jobs.

The specialist's comments follow the release of a study from Zoopla.co.uk, which revealed 32 per cent of properties on the market have had their original price reduced at least once during the time they have been up for sale.

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