House Prices Still Dropping
Some houses in the UK have nearly halved in value as markets plummet amid the global financial crisis states Sky News Online.
One flat in Folkestone, Kent, went on the market on January 28 this year at £125,000, and has now been reduced to £75,000.
One two bedroom house near Worthing, West Sussex, was first advertised last October at £319,950 - but is now down a staggering 53% to £149,995.
A similar home in Cardiff, Wales, has been slashed by 45% from £184,950 to £100,000 in less than a year.
The news comes as new figures show estate agents are selling only one house a week.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its members sold an average of just 11.5 homes during the three months to the end of September - the lowest level since its survey first began in 1978.
The situation is even worse in London, where estate agents have made an average of just eight sales during the period.
Some London homes on the market are down 20% from original asking prices, taking them back to levels seen in 2005 and 2006.
And completion prices are even lower because of 'gazundering' - where buyers cut their offer at the last minute - in the capital.
A five-bedroom house in Herne Hill has been cut by 37% from £1,275,000 to £795,000 as the number of homes sold in London falls to its lowest level since records began 30 years ago.
One London agent said: "We're 20% down. There are some very, very keen sellers out there."
(Friday, October 17, 2008)