London: House prices will not return to their pre-crisis peak until 2019, making this the longest fall in the housing market since records began, a report says today.
It predicts that prices will drop in every region next year, with Wales and Scotland among the worst hit.
The report, from the estate agency Knight Frank, says prices peaked at an average of GBP183,959 in 2007 but have fallen so dramatically that they will not return to this level until 2019 at the earliest. This 12-year recovery period is the longest since record began in the 1950s.
The report says the recovery is even further away if inflation is taken into account. If the increases in the cost of living are also considered, the date slips back to 2031.
During the last housing market fall, prices peaked in 1989 at GBP62,782 and did not reach that level again until 1998.
In a report on Tuesday, Halifax, the country’s biggest mortgage lender, said prices have dropped for each of the last four months and were down 0.7 per cent last month. The average home now costs GBP158,426.
Another report, from the National Association of Estate Agents, says the number of properties that are available to buy has plunged since the recession.
— Daily Mail
