A Derby estate agent has said a slowdown in the fall of house prices should help begin to restore confidence in the market.Following the release of the Nationwide house price index this week, Chris Brown, partner at Boxall, Brown and Jones in Iron Gate, said he was encouraged by the slowdown.

Nationwide reported that house prices in June fell 0.9%.

It means the average home has seen 6.3% wiped off its value during the last 12 months - the biggest annual fall since December 1992.

According to Nationwide, June's figures represented the eighth consecutive monthly fall.

The average cost of a home in the UK now stands at £172,415.

But Nationwide said the pace of price falls had slowed "significantly" during June.

Speaking in his role as president of the National Association of Estate Agents, Mr Brown agreed last month's fall was not as sharp as previous ones.

He said: "We know from our members that the market in some regions in the UK has been subdued as consumers' confidence has taken a knock with the continuing external pressures, particularly the global credit crunch.

"However, the market appears to be stabilising which should help begin to restore confidence in the market place."

He added: "We have called for measures such as a stamp-duty holiday for first-time buyers and temporary tax relief on the mortgage interest of people's primary residence.

"We really want to see action from the Government to ease pressure and give consumers hope for the future."

Source: Derby Evening Telegraph

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