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March property prices fall to their lowest for six months

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May 25th, 2007

House prices stall in March - first time buyers are still under pressure, says Moneyextra

Average property values prices fell in March to their lowest level since October last year. At £220,303, the average price is up just 4.8% on year-ago levels and is actually down 1.2% on February's £222,9231.

Property values fell both for first time buyers and for home movers. However, the fall of just £891 - to an average £176,205 - for first time buyers underlines that this is the sector of the housing market still experiencing the greatest price pressures.

Despite the falls seen in the last month, first time buyers are still facing the largest increases in prices year on year, with the average price experienced by those looking to buy a house for the first time rising by 5.9%.

Robin Amlôt of Moneyextra said, "It looks like the mortgage market is beginning to slow down. The prospect of higher interest rates on the way and talk of base rate rising as high as 7.5% next year will have a dampening effect on the housing market over the coming months."

The average value of mortgages actually completed by AWD Moneyextra customers in April rose by more than £5,000 to £147,848.35 but that is still well below the levels seen in January and February. The most popular mortgage lender in April was Nationwide BS2.

 

For further information, please contact:

Robin Amlôt
Senior Editor, Moneyextra
Tel: 0870 191 5626
public.relations@moneyextra.com

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Moneyextra.com's Compare and Buy Tool Searches April 2007

Mortgages FTB Moving Remortgage All
Average Borrowed £145,173.00 £170,722.00 £121,085.00 £142,087.00
Average LTV 81.05% 62.79% 51.08% 63.97%
Average Property Value £179,121.00 £271,881.00 £237,042.00 £222,117.00
Average First Income £38,206.00 £47,828.00 £42,723.00 £43,301.00
Average Second Income £21,094.00 £23,312.00 £20,042.00 £21,367.00
% with dual incomes 38.22% 58.34% 54.46% 48.46%

11Figures are based on the first 50,000 searches carried out on Moneyextra.com's Mortgage Comparison tool each month.

 

2 Moneyextra.com's top mortgage lenders

April 2007 Jan-April 2007
1. Nationwide BS 1. Nationwide BS
2. Cheltenham & Gloucester 2. Woolwich
3. Alliance & Leicester 3. Cheltenham & Gloucester
4. Woolwich 4. Northern Rock
5. Northern Rock 5. Halifax
6. Halifax 6. Abbey
7. Abbey 7. Alliance & Leicester
8. The Mortgage Works 8. Coventry BS
9. Mortgage Trust 9. Mortgage Trust
10. Cheshire BS 10. The Mortgage Works
11. Advantage Mortgage Services