House prices 'now slowing down'

House prices 'now slowing down' Further evidence has been published that house prices are slowing down in England and Wales.
The Land Registry said that the annual inflation rate for residential properties fell in September to 8.7%, down from 9.4% in August.
The figures back up other recent surveys, such as those from lenders, surveyors and the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The Land Registry said the fall in September was a "noticeable dip".
It now seems clear from all available evidence that the housing market is slowing down, say analysts, with prices cooling off, while both house sales and new mortgage approvals are dropping.
Between April and July, the average number of property sales was 102,367 per month, down from an average of 109,316 in the same period last year.
London
If it were not for the current strength of the market in London, house price inflation would be even lower, the figures suggest.
Prices in England and Wales rose by 0.4% in September, taking the cost of the average house to £183,896.
But prices in London - now averaging £354,272 - are still rising much faster than in the rest of the country.
Last month, they went up by a further 1.3%, which trimmed the annual inflation rate for the capital very slightly to 16.5%.
"The evidence of the divergent performance between regions persists," said the Registry.
"The September data shows that for the sixth consecutive month, the rate of monthly increase for London house prices remains clearly greater than that of England and Wales as a whole," it added.
With average prices rising, the number of properties being sold in the cheaper price bands in England and Wales has been shrinking.
In July, the last month for which data is available, the number of homes sold for between £100,001 and £150,000 - the most common price band - fell by 18%.
In London, it will soon be impossible to buy anything for less than £100,000.
In July, just 47 properties were sold for less than that sum.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/7063572.stmPublished: 2007/10/26 10:52:58 GMT© BBC MMVII