Hope for an end to house prices slump in 2011
House prices across the UK still appear to be in the doldrums as figures from most analysts show that the market is stagnant or that prices are falling.
In many areas, the number of houses being sold over November, December and into January fell mainly because of the prolonged periods of cold weather meant that people were either unable to view houses because of access or simply did not want to risk making unnecessary journeys.
Scotland was particularly badly affected in this respect, where overall house prices continued to slide, although falling at a lower rate than many other parts of the UK.
Overall, the general view was that the average house price fell by 0.3% to just over £163,000 but the fall over the last three months of 2010 meant that prices were 1.3% lower than in the previous quarter.
A direct comparison between December 2009 and December 2010 show that the property market deflated by some 3.4% over the year.
Analysts seem to be of the view that house prices are not likely to pick up by much in the early part of 2011 and remain unclear what the trends will be later on in the year, though the hope is that house price falls would begin to slow.
This, however, could create a stagnant market throughout the year.
In a breakdown across the UK, statistics show that the south of the country performed better in terms of the price of property than northern England, though the big winner in 2010 in terms of house price rises was the historic walled Welsh town of Conwy, which saw the price of a typical home soar by 13%. Some parts of Cheshire saw property rise by a modest 5%.
However, the general position of the market is that there remain more sellers than buyers.
In many areas, the number of houses being sold over November, December and into January fell mainly because of the prolonged periods of cold weather meant that people were either unable to view houses because of access or simply did not want to risk making unnecessary journeys.
Scotland was particularly badly affected in this respect, where overall house prices continued to slide, although falling at a lower rate than many other parts of the UK.
Overall, the general view was that the average house price fell by 0.3% to just over £163,000 but the fall over the last three months of 2010 meant that prices were 1.3% lower than in the previous quarter.
A direct comparison between December 2009 and December 2010 show that the property market deflated by some 3.4% over the year.
Analysts seem to be of the view that house prices are not likely to pick up by much in the early part of 2011 and remain unclear what the trends will be later on in the year, though the hope is that house price falls would begin to slow.
This, however, could create a stagnant market throughout the year.
In a breakdown across the UK, statistics show that the south of the country performed better in terms of the price of property than northern England, though the big winner in 2010 in terms of house price rises was the historic walled Welsh town of Conwy, which saw the price of a typical home soar by 13%. Some parts of Cheshire saw property rise by a modest 5%.
However, the general position of the market is that there remain more sellers than buyers.
