UNITED Kingdom house prices declined at the fastest annual pace in almost two decades this month after lower mortgage lending and the prospect of a recession discouraged home buyers, Nationwide Building Society said.
The average value of a home plunged 10.5 percent to 164,654 pounds (US$302,372), the biggest drop since the final quarter of 1990, Britain's fourth-biggest mortgage lender said today. Prices fell 1.9 percent from July, the 10th monthly decline, according to Bloomberg News.
The fastest inflation in more than a decade, a stagnant economy and the rationing of mortgages by banks have sparked the worst property slump since the last recession in the early 1990s. That's prompting economists at banks including Societe Generale SA and Bank of America Corp to forecast policy makers will be forced to cut interest rates this year.
Yesterday's report echoes others showing the market is worsening.