House sales to hit record low

House sales are set to fall to a record low next year, with less than 700,000 homes expected to change hands – equal to households in the UK moving just once every 31 years, double the 15-year average during the past decade. Figures from Hometrack show that prices are set to continue to fall next year by about 10 per cent on average with further falls of 3 per cent in 2010. The volume of transactions is also expected to fall 12 per cent, on top of a 45 per cent drop in sales volume throughout 2008. As spokesperson from Hometrack said: ‘The housing market saw a total reversal of fortunes in 2008 as homeowners faced a crisis of confidence after a decade of buoyant market conditions’.