The value of the average residential property in Britain fell by 1.7% during the first quarter of 2012 and now stands at £215,436, down £3,708 from the end of 2011, according to leading property website Zoopla.
The latest drop means that average house prices in Britain are now 2.8% of £6,440 lower than a year ago. The fall in house prices over the quarter was felt across Britain, however Scotland performed best with average property values falling only 1.4% to £162,777 over the quarter, still up 4.1% over the past 12 months.
In England, average values have dropped 1.7% since the start of the year to £222,849 and are down 3.2% on a year ago, while average house prices in Wales fell by 1.5% over the quarter to 149,629 and remain 3.3% lower than a year ago.
Over the past 12 months, all but six cities in Britain's have seen property prices fall. Edinburgh has performed best, up 5.2% over the last year whilst Huddersfield has performed worst with average home values down 6.4% over the same period. Even London has not been immune to the recent drops with property prices in the capital having fallen 2.1% over the past year.
'It has not been the best start to the year in terms of house prices however market activity has begun to show some positive signs of life. For some, the drop in prices is an incentive to act, as more properties become affordable,' said Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla.
After Edinburgh the next best performing city was Dundee with prices up 2.3% to an average of £147,510, then Doncaster with an increase of 1.6% to an average of £125,880, Swansea with an increase of 0.9% to an average of £139,279 and then Bournemouth with an increase of 0.4% to an average of £212,370.
Huddersfield was the worst performing city with a price fall of 6.4% taking the average price down from £147,531 in April 2011 to £138,070 in April 2012. Then Hull had a price fall of 5.3% taking average prices down to £106,950, Lincoln had a price fall of 5.1% taking average prices to £150,101, Wigan with a 4.0% fall to £126,478 and Leeds with a price fall of 4% to an average of £159,211.
SOURCE Propertywire
