London house prices fell for the seventh consecutive month in January say Hometrack.

Hometrack revealed that average house price in the capital fell by 0.4% in January following two previous monthly drops of 0.9%.

This is the seventh consecutive month that house prices in London have fallen with the average price now standing at £262,900, down from a peak of £275,900 in June 2004, the report said.

Properties are taking slightly longer to sell (6.8 weeks compared with 6.7 weeks in December?s survey), while the average number of viewings per sale has reduced again this month to 14.2 (14.5 in December?s survey).

Also down is the number of new buyers, with a fall of 16%, while the number of properties listed has fallen by 7.8%.

Borough Breakdowns

This month seven boroughs remained stable or reported price rises compared with just two last month. The top five were Ealing (0.1%), Greenwich (0.0%), Hammersmith & Fulham (0.0%),Haringey (0.0%) and Havering (0.0%).

The worst performing boroughs were Barking & Dagenham (-2.0%), Bromley (-1.4%), Hackney (-1.1%), Richmond-upon-Thames (-0.9%) and Wandsworth(-0.8%).

Hometrack predicts that property prices in London will fall by 5% in 2005.

Commenting on the figures, Hometrack?s housing economist John Wriglesworth, said:

?London has been hit hard by the price falls over the past six months, and this month shows no signs of an imminent recovery. The Bank of England?s decision to maintain interest rates at their current level has brought a degree of confidence back into the market, but we will continue to see modest falls in the coming months as the market adjusts to a new, more sustainable level.

I continue to predict -5.0% house price deflation for 2005.?

Links

Hometrack

London Property Prices