House prices are falling at the fastest rate in more than a decade, but estate agents are looking to the future with cautious optimism.
The latest report from the Office for National Statistics shows that house prices fell by 2.1% in the year to the end of November 2023, the steepest annual decline since the summer of 2011.
The average house price in Britain is now £284,950, £6,000 lower than in November 2022.
But the latest poll by the RICS shows that price falls are becoming less acute and widespread, with 30% of surveyors reporting a drop in December, against 41% and 60% in the previous two months.
