According to latest reports the number of people planning to buy their very first home has dropped to the lowest level since records began.The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the number of first-time buyers is down from 500,000 a year at the turn of the century to 200,000.

It is quite surprising to see that though Q2 GDP had reported a rising by more than expected last week, there is a surprise drop in the June trade deficit disclosed at the beginning of August,and also the largest drop in unemployment in 3 years unveiled in early July.

Hometrack showed that the price of houses had fallen for 1 st time in 15 months.In this monthly survey it was clear that demand for housing in July dropped by -1.3% triggering the first fall in prices for 15 months.The demand is lowering and supply of houses is increasing by 3.6% in July.

The average cost of a home fell 0.3 percent from the previous month to 158,200 pounds ($246,000)

http://www.hometrack.co.uk/commentary-and-analysis/house-price-survey/20100726.cfm