Shropshire Star

House prices have fallen by one per cent during the past 12 months, the first year-on-year fall in more than decade, new figures revealed today.

The average home in the UK now costs £178,555, £1,759 less than 12 months ago, but Shropshire is bucking the trend with average property prices up by about £5,000.

The cost of a home nationally dropped for the sixth month in a row during April.

The drop leaves property values one per cent lower than they were in April 2007, according to Nationwide Building Society.

However latest figures from the Land Registry’s house price index show an average home in Shropshire will cost £181,304, compared to £176,433 in March 2007, and in the Telford & Wrekin area prices are up to £151,735 from 147,111 a year ago.

The figures were released as property valuation website Zoopla.co.uk showed the average house value has dropped £310.73 a week so far during 2008.

Experts today said the drops need to be seen in the context of the strong house price growth seen in recent years, with house prices soaring by 45.5 per cent during the past five years.

Nationwide’s chief economist Fionnuala Earley said: “April was another difficult month for the housing market. Falling levels of market activity meant that prices fell by 1.1 per cent during the month and ended up one per cent lower than this time last year.

“April’s fall in prices continues the trend of the last six months and reflects the weakening sentiment in the market brought about by poor affordability and tighter financial market conditions.”

But she stressed the current situation was different to conditions leading up to the 1990s house price crash.

The figures come the day after the Bank of England said the number of mortgages approved for house purchase had fallen to a record low during March.

Just 64,000 loans were approved for people moving house during the month, the lowest figure since the Bank of England began to collect data in April 1993.

By Business Editor Amy Bould