House prices fall again

As January gives way to February and a blanket of beautiful snow covers the gardens of the UK, homeowners are finding that their properties are worth less than they were just a month ago.

It is a familiar feeling for householders in Britain after months of falling house prices.

The average home now costs just £150,501, signalling a 16.6 per cent decrease in the last year and a 1.3 per cent fall since the turn of the year, according to the latest figures from Nationwide.

Senior economist Martin Gahbauer explained that things dont look bright for those looking to sell.

"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," he said.

"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 this in mind, some homeowners may look to improve rather than move and with the recent snow making gardens look so lovely, a quality conservatory might be close to the top of the list.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research suggests that the average house price could fall to as low as £139,000 in the next five years.