House prices are falling across the UK, with estate agents at their most gloomy since 2009 and more than two-thirds of the most expensive properties selling for below their asking price, according to a survey published on Thursday.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, fell to minus 48 in February from minus 46 in January. That is the lowest figure since April 2009.
The professional body also found that 70 per cent of properties marketed for £500,000 or more sold for less than their asking price, a figure that dipped to 60 per cent for less expensive ones.