House prices fell for the 10th month in a row during July - but there are claims the property market will bounce back stronger than ever. Homes in England and Wales lost a further 1.2% of their value during the past four weeks, new figures show. The average cost of a home has now slumped by 4.4% during the past year.That is the fastest annual rate of decline since property intelligence group Hometrack first launched its index in 2001.
But separate research carried out for the National Housing Federation predicted that the house prices in England will rise by 25% during the coming five years.
Hometrack reported price falls in 65 postcode districts of England and Wales during July, adding the average home now cost just £168,500, the same as in October 2006. It said demand from potential buyers had continued to fall during the month, with the number of people registering with estate agents slumping by 6.4%, following a drop of 5.7% in June and one of 6.7% in May. (Sky News Monday 28th July 2008)
