House Prices Will Soar by 25%
Research carried out for the National Housing Federation predicted that the house prices in England will rise by 25% during the coming five years.
"Our report shows that despite concerns about the current housing market downturn, house prices will increase substantially over the mid to long term" said NHF chief executive David Orr.
Homeowners are now getting an average of just 90.9% of their asking price - well down on levels of 95.1% 12 months ago.
East Anglia saw the biggest drop in prices during the month, with the average cost of a home falling by 1.4%, while slides of 1.3% were recorded in Greater London, the South East, South West and East Midlands.
Despite the gloomy figures, National Housing Federation (NHF) research claimed the current market downturn would be over by 2010, leading to a return of rising prices.
It predicts the average home in England will cost £274,700 by 2013, with prices rising by 5.2% during 2011 and by more than 9% a year in both 2012 and 2013.
In the short-term, it expects prices to fall by a further 2.1% in 2009, before beginning to increase in 2010, edging ahead by 1.3%.
The research, by Oxford Economics, showed despite the current crisis, demand for property is still growing, while the supply of new housing is falling.
