UK property slowdown continues as prices fall for 5th month

[LONDON] UK house prices fell for a fifth month in August, according to a new report, dragging their annual gain to the weakest since 2012.

In a monthly report published Wednesday, Acadata said values fell 0.2 per cent from July to an average £297,398 (S$541,690).

From a year earlier, they rose 2.1 per cent.

Detailed figures published with a lag show London values dropped 1.4 per cent in July, led by prime boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster.

The report tallies with the broad picture seen in most surveys of a slowdown in demand for property over the past two years.

More recently, that's partly due to the unsettling effect of Brexit and the impact of faster inflation, but it's also payback for years of rampant home-price gains that have made it harder to get on the property ladder.

That's been particularly the case in London and the south-east of the country, where values tend to be much higher.

In a comment in the Acadata report, Oliver Blake from Reeds Rains estate agents said regions like the east of England are "closing the gap on the traditionally stronger performers like the south-east as first time buyers drive growth in search of more affordable housing."

BLOOMBERG