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Homes values in line for a tumble, experts warn

Kent's house prices are expected to plummet by eight per cent this year.

The forecast comes after the largest monthly fall since the 1990s.

But the message has failed to get through to Kent homeowners - who hope to get six per cent more for their bricks and mortar than last year!

Statistics from rightmove.co.uk show Kent people are pitching the value of their homes at an average £264,000 - 6.4 per cent higher than last year.

They also reckon their home is worth 4.5 per cent more than last month!

Homeowners' expectations are a full £58,000 higher than the actual Kent house price - which stands at £206,000.

In reality experts are anticipating house prices will plummet by eight per cent this year.

The prediction comes after the largest monthly UK drop since the nineties.

Building society Nationwide announced house prices fell 2.5 per cent in May - the largest monthly fall since the crash of the early 1990s.

Lucian Cook, director of residential research from Savills,blames the downturn in the market on the lack of mortgage finance and ‘the weak sentiment in the market among buyers’.

He said: “It is a weaker economical outlook than we would have assumed. The credit crunch is more severe and is lasting longer than we thought.

"We are now anticipating house prices to fall by eight per cent. It is unlikely that there will be any significant regional variations, which means I don’t think Kent will be different from other areas.”

But the chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, Peter Bolton King, was still optimistic.

His members had reported a levelling out in the number of viewings of properties and sales in the last month.

But he warned: “People have to be sensible about their pricing on their properties. They have to be competitive and need to take into account the change in the climate, which is affecting areas differently depending on the demand.”

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