People want house prices to fallhouse prices

A BBC-commissioned survey has found that 28% of respondents wanted house prices to drop against 22% who hoped for an increase in house prices. And giving an indication that crash fears may be misplaced, almost two-thirds of respondents said a fall of more than 10% in house prices would not negatively impact on their household spending.

This survey follows a series of gloomy data from the mortgage industry. In April average house prices fell by 1.3%, according to the Halifax. It contributed to the first 12 month house price drop since February 1996.

Level house prices or a fall in prices could help hard-pushed first-time buyers who have struggled in recent years to get onto the property ladder with ever increasing prices. It could also help those hoping to move up a level in the future, as the steps between the house prices narrows. Fears of the impact of a sizeable fall in house prices appear to be less pronounced than with the '90s property crash.

More than 60% said a drop of more than 10% would make no difference to their spending plans or make them likely to spend more. That compared with 38% who said it would make them more likely to cut back.