House prices down 12.3%

Figures from Communities and Local Government show the annual rate of decline in house prices hit 12.3 per cent in the three months to February. The December to February quarter saw a fall of 4.8 per cent, compared with the previous quarter’s decline of 4.3 per cent. The drop was most pronounced in Northern Ireland where values tumbled 19.4 per cent over the year; Wales also saw a big drop of 12.5 per cent; England faced an average price decline of 12.4 per cent; and Scotland down by 8.6 per cent. It was the sixteenth month in a row that the annual house price rate had worsened.