| Updated:
House prices to decline sharply despite recent rally, warns Fitch
RECENT rises in UK house prices are likely to be reversed next year, ratings agency Fitch said yesterday.
The firm said it expected a rapid decline in house prices to a trough of 30 per cent below the peak of October 2007, despite the 1.6 per cent rise recorded by home lender Halifax in September.
Prices are currently around 13 per cent below the peak, despite three consecutive monthly rises, Fitch estimates.
Brian Coulton, head of global economics at Fitch, said: “The UK’s average house price-to-income ratio remains significantly higher than the long-term average.”
“A 30 per cent fall from the peak of October 2007 would bring this ratio back in line with the long-term average,” he added.