House prices in "freefall" says Cable

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has said that UK house prices are now in "freefall".

Mr Cable made his comments in response to Halifax figures revealing the fastest rate of house price decline in 15 years, Housefund.co.uk reports.

He said that "uncontrolled and irresponsible" lending is now "coming back to haunt us".

The Halifax figures had revealed a fall of two per cent in prices during June and by 6.1 per cent over the past year.

While the bank did point out that the drop was less than the 2.5 per cent figure for May, the continued fall may encourage some people to seek to bolster the value of their homes.

One way of doing this may be by renovating a home to raise its potential worth to any new buyer, through measures such as a loft conversion, new kitchen or extension.