Property Prices falling in all UK Regions

There we go with another set of gloomy news for the property market! It is indeed a challenging time to be an estate agent, although this will bring for sure innovation and more creative ways of marketing property for the future.

Well, let's go to the numbers...

New figures from Hometrack reveal that the average cost of a home dropped by 0.4% during September to £157,600, against the background of a mortgage famine and falling confidence. The most resilient areas of London and the South East have also seen property price falls over last month.

The figures also show the number of buyers looking for a property fell by 2.9% in September- the third month in a row that has seen a reduction.

Richard Donnell director of research at Hometrack, said: "The market is now entering the second phase of the re-pricing process as a response to falls in both sales volumes and demand. Over the rest of the year and into early 2011, agents will start to focus on re-pricing the property on their books to a level where transactions volumes are maintained. Talk of a double dip, with the implication being that the market will see double digit house price falls, is over-done despite the weak outlook for demand. We expect a slowdown in the volume of homes coming to the market to limit the scale of absolute price falls over the next 12 months.

So don't panic just yet, this correction in prices is in a way, a healthy market reaction which will enable property prices to grow at a similar pace as the overall economy, but vendors will have to be realistic and adapt their selling prices to the current demand, as it is a buyer's market at the moment.

For those in despair, bank performance is expected to be good for 2010, and those chunky city bonuses should bring back some joy to the London property market next spring.

Bullish London outstrips national property prices increase

Average house prices registered a 0.2% increase in August but, over the last five months, have remained largely static according to the latest LSL/Acadametrics House Price Index.

The figures also show sales in London picked up by 22% but remain virtually static in all other regions in England & Wales whilst year on year house price growth has slowed to 7.7%, and is expected to slow further as 2010 increases fail to match those of a year ago.

LSL commercial director David Brown said:

“The pickup in house sales since the start of the year dropped off in August. The exception is London where high demand for prized property from cash-rich buyers has seen housing market activity increase. Some buyers will be wary of imminent public sector cuts and the knock-on consequences for the economy.

Kylie sells her London Home

If you ever wondered how stars like her live behind closed doors you can see it in the pictures above! Kylie Minogue is selling her four bedroom apartment for £3,950,000 according to Rightmove where the property has been spotted listed for sale!

The two-floor maisonette is part of a beautiful mansion in South Kensington and offers lovely views over Chelsea. It boasts three bathrooms and even comes complete with a lift and resident caretaker – what more could a pop princess want?

Kylie’s pad was immaculately refurbished a few years ago by interior designers to the stars, Candy and Candy, and features a sweeping staircase and gorgeous parquet floors.

Minogue is believed to have bought the flat back in the 90’s and once shared it with her brother Brendon. It’s thought that she would like to move into a house rather than an apartment so that her younger sister Dannii and her new-born newphew Ethan can come to stay.

Kylie has already moved out of the apartment to begin her hunt for the perfect pad, and has just purchased a £450,000 villa on the Costa Brava to spend more time with her Spanish boyfriend Andres Velencosa.

While there have been rumours of a stateside move, the popstar has already been spotted eying up multi-million pound properties in London.