House price bottom a long way off

UK homeowners hoping to see the housing market level out will have to wait a while according to the latest predictions.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research has predicted that the average property price could fall to as little as £139,000 within the next five years.

With property prices continuously falling, this may not come as a surprise to some.

The average cost of a home is now just £150,501, according to the latest figures from Nationwide.

This figure represents a 16.6 per cent drop on last years prices and a 1.3 per cent decrease on prices at the beginning of the year.

"Mortgage approvals for house purchase fell to a record low of 27,000 in November, and partial figures for December suggest there has only been a small improvement since then," said senior economist Martin Gahbauer.

"House purchase approvals have historically been a good lead indicator of house price movements, and we would not expect to see a stabilisation of property prices until approvals recover significantly from current levels."

With all this negativity surrounding the housing market, some homeowners may look to improve rather than move.

Waking up to a country blanketed in snow may even convince some to invest in a conservatory so they can fully enjoy views of their garden.