House Prices dropped 0.4% in March

The Land Registry figures, which show that the average cost of a home in England and Wales dropped by 0.4 per cent in March to stand at £184,798, will add to growing fears that the UK is about to suffer a significant slump in the housing market.

 Six regions of England and Wales saw price falls during March, with Wales seeing the steepest drop of 2.2 per cent, followed by the East Midlands at 2.1 per cent and the South East at 1.6 per cent. Homes in Wales now cost an average of 1.3 per cent less than they did 12 months earlier, while the value of property in the East Midlands is now 0.7 per cent lower.

Worst affected are first-time buyers. Some have been waiting for prices to come down so they can get on the housing ladder – only to find that now prices are slipping they cannot get a mortgage.