UK house prices falling £100 per day

- Price plunge brings renewed buyer interest -

12th Mar 2009

Figures released today show that the average UK home has lost £100 per day, every day since March 1st last year, wiping almost £1 trillion of value off the UK housing market in the past year.

House prices in England have been hardest hit, dropping an average of £110 per day or £36,643 over the last twelve months, with average home values in England now standing at £202,447 (down 16.6 per cent). Homes in Wales have fallen £68 per day (-£24,954) over the past year, down 14.7 per cent with average house values now at £144,954. Scottish residents have seen the slowest decline over the most recent twelve months with average house prices depreciating by £42 per day (-£15,172) to a current average value of £146,640.

Zoopla.co.uk, the UK's leading house prices website, which provides free instant values for every UK home, has released its latest housing market data following analysis of annual value changes across the UK, looking at the most and least affected areas of the country.

Across the different property types in Britain detached houses have fallen at a rate of £150 per day (-£54,743) since last March to a current average value of £293,619 whilst flats have depreciated at a daily rate of £93 (-£33,986) to an average value of £182,307. Semi-detached properties have fallen £32,378 or £89 a day and now average £173,694 and terraced houses have been falling £79 per day to a new four-year low of £155,458, down £28,981 in the past year.

Homes in London and the South East region have been the biggest losers, with average property prices in London falling double the national rate, losing £202 per day for each of the last 365 days. Certain parts of London have seen their values fall over five times the national average with the average property in Kensington (W8) falling £719 per day and Chelsea (SW3) recording a daily drop of £547 over the past year. At the other end of the spectrum, homes in the North of England have been falling a modest £63 per day on average in comparison.

Windsor and Maidenhead has been the worst affected county over the past twelve months with average values falling from £444,250 to £372,279, a daily drop of £197. Surrey saw the second biggest drop, with the average house price falling £68,675 or £188 per day. Outside London, some of the highest priced areas have been hard hit with average home values in Virginia Water (Surrey) falling the most at £397 per day, followed by Beaconsfield (Buckinghamshire) where property prices have lost £355 per day and Cobham (Surrey) where prices have been falling at a daily rate of £332.

The figures from Zoopla.co.uk also highlighted certain areas of Britain where the value drops have been far lower than the average over the last year. Leading the property 'Bright Spots' was Woodbridge, Suffolk where house prices have fallen by only 7.4 per cent in the past twelve months with Hastings, East Sussex down only 9.25 per cent compared to the national rate of decline of 16.6 per cent.

Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, commented:

"Homeowners have faced a difficult year in the property market and whilst there are not many positive indicators in the economy at present, house prices have now fallen to levels where buyer interest is beginning to grow significantly again. With property searches on Zoopla.co.uk now at a rate of over one per second, we are seeing clear evidence of this increased interest. Providing that buyers gain confidence that the price declines are slowing and sellers are realistic with their expectations, we are likely see a recovery in market activity at least in 2009 which in turn will lead to a recovery in prices."

- Ends -

Notes to Editors

Results at a glance

By Region:

Mar-09

Mar-08

12m loss

London

£350,279

£423,894

-£73,615

-£202

South East England

£245,817

£303,414

-£57,597

-£158

East of England

£210,031

£254,649

-£44,618

-£122

South West England

£199,877

£239,543

-£39,666

-£109

West Midlands

£161,444

£192,405

-£30,961

-£85

East Midlands

£149,900

£179,642

-£29,742

-£81

Yorkshire and the Humber

£136,188

£162,210

-£26,022

-£71

North West England

£148,894

£172,420

-£23,526

-£64

North East England

£151,611

£174,546

-£22,935

-£63

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

Hardest Hit Counties

Mar-09

Mar-08

12m loss

Daily drop

Windsor and Maidenhead

£372,279

£444,250

-£71,971

-£197

Surrey

£310,549

£379,224

-£68,675

-£188

South Gloucestershire

£333,674

£395,886

-£62,212

-£170

Buckinghamshire

£267,106

£324,033

-£56,927

-£156

West Berkshire

£279,235

£331,455

-£52,220

-£143

Hertfordshire

£285,316

£336,469

-£51,153

-£140

West Sissex

£237,480

£287,289

-£49,809

-£136

Oxfordshire

£257,494

£307,103

-£49,609

-£136

Berkshire

£240,404

£286,794

-£46,390

-£127

Bath and NE Somerset

£251,260

£296,413

-£45,153

-£124

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

Hardest Hit Areas (outside London)

Mar-09

Mar-08

12m loss

Daily drop

Virginia Water, Surrey

£776,945

£921,808

-£144,863

-£397

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

£695,652

£825,357

-£129,705

-£355

Cobham, Surrey

£649,352

£770,422

-£121,070

-£332

Keston, Kent

£624,072

£740,429

-£116,357

-£319

Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire

£622,634

£738,724

-£116,090

-£318

Esher, Surrey

£622,219

£738,231

-£116,012

-£318

Richmond, Surrey

£513,073

£624,918

-£111,845

-£306

Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire

£562,184

£667,002

-£104,818

-£287

Hartfield, East Sussex

£545,817

£647,584

-£101,767

-£279

Radlett, Hertfordshire

£544,295

£645,776

-£101,481

-£278

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

Hardest Hit London Areas

Mar-09

Mar-08

12m loss

Daily drop

W8 (Kensington)

£1,327,132

£1,589,451

-£262,319

-£719

SW7 (Knightsbridge, South Ken)

£1,082,416

£1,287,301

-£204,885

-£561

SW3 (Chelsea)

£1,104,353

£1,303,835

-£199,482

-£547

SW10 (West Brompton)

£872,022

£1,031,093

-£159,071

-£436

SW13 (Barnes)

£775,703

£924,749

-£149,046

-£408

W11 (Notting Hill, Holland Park)

£940,199

£1,112,986

-£172,787

-£473

W1 (Westminster)

£707,688

£848,590

-£140,902

-£386

SW1 (Belgravia)

£759,562

£887,242

-£127,680

-£350

SW5 (Earl's Court)

£654,197

£761,584

-£107,387

-£294

SW6 (Fulham)

£599,281

£706,276

-£106,995

-£293

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

Bright Spots

Mar-09

Mar-08

12m loss

% change

Woodbridge, Suffolk

£246,196

£266,043

-£19,847

-7.46%

Hastings, East Sussex

£175,765

£193,676

-£17,911

-9.25%

Kidderminster, Worcestershire

£174,697

£193,134

-£18,437

-9.55%

Dorchester, Dorset

£248,118

£275,219

-£27,101

-9.85%

Shrewsbury, Shropshire

£187,632

£208,169

-£20,537

-9.87%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk

- Ends -

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