February saw slight dip in property prices, Land Registry says

Friday, March 26th 2010

First-time buyers could find it more affordable to secure a mortgage on a property, after the Land Registry has revealed house prices took a slight tumble last month.

The statistics showed that they dropped 0.3 per cent since January, meaning the average home in England and Wales is now valued at £164,455.

Mortgage hunters in the north-east may find they get a better deal, as property values here fell by 2.3 per cent.

London - perhaps unsurprisingly for many - is the region which saw the biggest gains, with an increase of 11.9 per cent.

The report noted that nine regions in England and Wales saw a rise over the last 12 months in their average property values.

It was recently reported by communications manager at the Council of Mortgage Lenders Bernard Clarke that many first-time buyers are unable to meet lender demands, in some cases, of a 25 per cent mortgage deposit.