House prices drop 8.8%

Updated 09.37 Thu Aug 07 2008

Keywords: Halifax, house, mortgage

House prices have lost 8.8 per cent of their value during the past year, according to the UK's largest mortgage lender.

Halifax said the drop - the biggest since December 1992 - compares to a 6.1 per cent year-on-year fall seen in June.

The monthly fall of 1.7 per cent represents a slowdown from the falls seen in May and June, which were 2.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively

It came after the average property price slid 1.7 per cent in July to stand at £177,351, leaving average prices at the same level they were in June 2006.

The monthly fall of 1.7 per cent represents a slowdown from the falls seen in May and June, which were 2.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

But it is the fourth month running that house prices have dropped more than 1.5 per cent.

They have now fallen in nine of the past 11 months, but they are still 34 per cent higher than five years ago and 145 per cent higher than a decade ago.

The figures are in line with those reported by Nationwide Building Society last week.