House prices in England and Wales fell for an 11th consecutive month in May to leave them down 2.3 per cent on a year ago even though property transactions picked up, a survey showed today.
Average house prices based on agreed sales by estate agents fell 0.1 per cent on the month in May and marked the worst annual performance in the five-year history of research company Hometrack's survey of the British property market.
Hometrack cut its 2005 house price inflation forecast to 0 from 3 per cent, following a similar move by the Nationwide building society last week.
"The number of new instructions continues to increase, and oversupply of properties means that it is still a buyer's market and prices are still decreasing," the report said.
The fall left the average residential property price at £161,900 (€235,928), down from £162,100 (€236,240) in April.