The average price of a British home, which stood at £221,278 in January, fell to £217,737 in February. Thus, the rate of 'growth downward' in February was 1.63%. Specialists at Halifax – the largest mortgage broker in the UK – say that in March, British property lost another 2.5%.
However, in some places housing prices continue to rise. According to Metrinfo.Ru, the greatest growth is observed in Scotland, where prices have risen by 9.7% over the year. London is also growing – housing there has risen in price by 9.5%.
The total number of sales is also declining. In the period from January to March, only 22.4 transactions per agent were conducted, which is close to the lowest figure recorded in 1992 (then that figure was 18.3 transactions per agent). Demand for housing has been falling for 16 months, and over the past year the number of unsold homes has increased by 50%.
Experts disagree on the prospects for the crisis. Some say that this is only the beginning, while others predict a 30% drop over the next three years. In these conditions, the Council of Mortgage Lenders intends to put pressure on the government to take some measures to support debtors in order to halt the ongoing decline.