"Affordability constraints and a general unwillingness by households to take on debt will continue to act as a drag on the housing market in 2013"
- Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack
Home prices in the U.K. dropped for a six consecutive month in December, and are expected to extend their drop in the next year as well, a survey done by Hometrack showed on Monday. Prices in England and Wales slipped 0.1%, after a same reading in November, while average prices ended the year 0.3% lower than a year ago. At the same time, values will fall 1% in 2013, while price growth in London will slow to 2%. A reason for such a decline is that Britons are reluctant to borrow money, weakening domestic demand for property. In the meantime, the number of registrations by potential buyers to browse new property fell 4.8% from the previous month, while listings shrank 3.1%.
"Affordability constraints and a general unwillingness by households to take on debt will continue to act as a drag on the housing market in 2013," Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in the statement. "Average prices will remain under slow downward pressure."
"As has been the case over the last three years, the prospects for the London market will have an important bearing on overall house price growth in 2013. London continued to provide important support to headline trends in 2012. The question is whether this is a trend that can be maintained."
© Dukascopy Bank SA