House prices fall across 80% of the UK - Zoopla

House prices fell across roughly 80% of the UK so far this year, according to property portal Zoopla, with the rising cost of borrowing and a squeeze on household incomes weighing on demand.

All markets in London and the south and east of England registered price falls, as well as more than half of those in the rest of England and Wales. Scotland, on the other hand, saw just under two-fifths of markets record price falls.

Weaker demand has brought about a slowdown in house price growth, down from a 9.2% jump a year ago to a 1.1% drop in 2023 - the sharpest year-on-year decline in price growth since 2009.

The number of UK house sales was projected to fall nearly 25% for the year to 1.0m but the scale of price falls was said to be "modest", remaining below 5% in all markets.

Hoopla's Richard Donnell said: "House prices have proven more resilient than many expected over the last year in response to higher mortgage rates. However, almost a quarter fewer people will move home due to greater uncertainty and less buying power.

"Modest house price falls over 2023 mean it’s going to take longer for housing affordability to reset to a level where more people start to move home again. Income growth is finally increasing faster than inflation, but mortgage rates remain stuck around 5% or higher."

Donnell added that he believed house prices would post further "small falls", averaging 2% over 2024.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com