Nationwide reports record annual drop in value as prices fall 1.8% during February

UK homes have lost on average 17.6% of their value over the past 12 months, according to new figures from Nationwide.

It revealed a fall in house prices of 1.8% during February alone, taking the value of the average UK property down to 拢147,750.

The lender reported that rising buyer enquiries had yet to translate into an increase in sales, despite interest rates having been repeatedly slashed.

Nationwide's chief economist Fionnuala Earley said: 鈥淔urther cuts in rates will be welcome in the housing market, but the economic conditions that require them will mean that there is unlikely to be a swift turnaround in the housing market in 2009.鈥�

Halifax recently reported a 1.6% house price rise in January, but warned that not too much should be read into this as the three-monthly figure was still 5.1% down on the previous quarter and 17.2% lower than the same month a year earlier.

However, recent figures from the British Bankers' Association showed a slight rise in mortgage approvals during January, although the figure was still 43% down over the year.

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