Home construction in the United States is all but coming to a halt.

Americans are on track to buy fewer new homes than in any year since the government began keeping data almost a half-century ago. Sales are now just half the pace of 1963 — even though there are 120 million more people in the United States now.

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Fewer Americans bought previously occupied homes in February and those who did purchased them at steep discounts. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly 9 years.

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The recent run of UK house price falls have wiped out most of the gains seen to property values during the past year, figures showed today.

The average cost of a home dropped by a further 0.3 per cent during November – around £40 a day for the average house -  following a 0.7 per cent slide in October.

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UK Interest rates could increase 16-fold within two years to 8 per cent – adding £900 to the average monthly home loan bill, it was claimed last night.

An economist at an influential think tank has warned that the base rate may spiral ‘rapidly’ as the Bank of England will need to curb runaway inflation.
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Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes fell last week for the fourth straight week, holding 13-year lows, as the housing market adjusted to a selling environment without the federal tax credits that had stoked April sales, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
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