House prices plunge 10.5%

The Nationwide’s latest house price index has shown double digit falls for the first time a year after the onset of the credit crunch. The value of the typical British home fell 1.9% between July and August to £164,654, and has dropped by 10.5% since August 2007. Fionnuala Earley, chief economist at Nationwide, says subdued activity for both estate agents and house builders indicates the downturn is likely to continue. “The reported numbers of sales have not been encouraging,” she says. “The ratio of sales to stocks has been a good predictor of movement in house prices. “Current m...