Possible house price drop of 30%

UK house prices could fall by some 30 per cent, it has been warned – news that may be of interest to those looking to buy a house in Scotland. David Blanchflower, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, has claimed that if interest rates are not cut by the Bank of England, house prices could fall by a third. Mr Blanchflower also cautioned that the UK faces “real risk” of falling into a recession, the International Herald reports. Speaking to the Royal Society in Edinburgh, Mr Blanchflower commented: “In my view a correction of approximately one-third in house prices does not seem implausible in the UK over a period of two or three years.” Urgent action is required if the UK is not to follow the US, he added, going on to continue that the quicker the Bank of England acts, the less cuts it will have to make. The news comes as the Bank of England reported a sharp fall in the number of new mortgages taken out in March.