House Prices At Auction Fall By Almost A Quarter
We are all aware that the average price of a house in the UK has dropped over the course of the last twelve months and the figures as to exactly how much they have dropped by can vary greatly depending on factors such as, the type of property, which region of the country it is in and which survey or report you happen to be reading.
But according to new research from the Liberal Democrats, the average price of a house sold at auction has dropped by a staggering 23.4 per cent from the same period last year. Out of the 3,993 properties which were sold through auction between June and August this year, the average price was £130,400, down from £170,300 at the same time last year.
Property auctions are traditionally the route used to make a quick sale on a house and are often used by home owners who need to sell quickly due to financial problems with their mortgages and home loans, who may be facing repossession by their lender. Banks and building societies will also use auctions to dispose of property which they have repossessed from home owners who have failed to keep up with their loan repayments.
The Liberal Democrats have, quite predictably, blamed the Government for the dramatic falls in prices and increased home loan arrears and defaults and have called on Labour to take more action to help those home owners who may be struggling with the repayments on their mortgage or home loan. They have also described the recent alteration to the stamp duty starting amount as “pointless at best” and have warned that this could actually have a further negative effect on the market, by encouraging first time buyers to enter into a purchase which they will not be able to afford in the long term.
Lord Oakenshott said “The Government must do far more to empower housing associations and councils to buy unsold homes and land, which would save our building industry from collapse. The Government must also act to ensure the banks only use repossession as a last resort.”
