Houses are set to stay stuck on the market A study by Nationwide has revealed house prices are continuing to fall, and are set to plummet throughout 2009. The whole of the UK is suffering from declining house prices with Northern Ireland seeing the biggest drop at an average annual rate of 32.4 per cent – the largest fall ever recorded in the Nationwide House Price Index. Scotland saw the smallest decline, with an annual fall of 8.1 per cent and the average house price clocking in at almost £242,000. As a result the population of Scotland remains optimistic, Nationwide’s Chief Economist Fionnuala Earley says, ‘Scotland is the most optimistic part of the UK with 11 per cent believing prices will increase in the next six months. It is the only part of the UK where less than half of consumers believe that prices will fall’. Wales too performed fairly well, with a decline of 12.1 per cent, compared to the UK average of 14.7 per cent. In England, prices in the North fell by 13.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared to 15.1 per cent for the South. A survey by property consultant’s Hometrack showed the average time a property spent on the market in the UK was 12.3 weeks, up by almost half compared to the same time last year. ADD YOUR COMMENT *Name: Company name: *Email: Comment: Remember my personal information Notify me of follow-up comments? Please enter the word you see in the image below: