Number of homes changing hands on the increase: Hometrack

October saw the number of homes changing ownership increase for the first time in the past five months, a new study has revealed.

Property information group Hometrack said that the number of properties sold rose by 5.4 per cent, despite the average price of a home continuing to fall.

House prices in England and Wales fell 1.3 per cent month on month to £163,000, representing a 7.3 per cent fall during 2008.

Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research, said: "The outlook for demand is set to remain weak as consumers focus their attention on the economy."

Mr Donnell added that the expectation of a forthcoming recession and rising unemployment will "further undermine demand for housing and continued price falls are inevitable."

In related news, a separate survey by the Centre for Economics and Business Research has revealed that the economic slump will have knocked 25 per cent of the value of a typical home by the end of 2009.