HOUSE prices will fall by thousands next year in the sharpest drop in decades, forecasters have predicted.
Those hunting for a home have been handed a boost in today’s Autumn Statement as prices are set to fall by 4.7 per cent next year, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
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It means house prices will be 7.6 per cent lower in total compared to January 2022.
Lower levels of demand are predicted to cause the huge drop-off.
Brits have already seen the biggest year-on-year fall in average prices for 14 years.
The OBR then expects a slow recovery in house prices, but it will take until the second half of 2027 for them to reach their 2022 peak, they estimate.
It comes as house prices fell at their sharpest rate in over a decade in August — with the average value now £259,153, figures show.
The 5.3 per cent annual drop was the biggest since July 2009 and left house prices £14,600 below their August 2022 peak.
Home-mover completions with a mortgage in the first half of this year were a third down on 2019, while first-time buyer numbers were around 25 per cent lower.
Jeremy Hunt today unleashed sweeping tax cuts in an attempt to ease the burden on millions of Brits and help resuscitate the flagging economy.
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He also confirmed assistance to first time house buyers would also remain available in a bid to keep new buyers coming into the market.
After months of restraint, the Chancellor slashed National Insurance by 2 percentage points to save workers hundreds.
National Insurance is a tax on your earnings, which is put into a fund to use for some state benefits.
This includes the state pension, statutory sick pay, maternity leave and unemployment benefits.
This change will help 27million people and it means that someone earning an average salary of £35,000 will save over £450.
Mr Hunt added: “For the average nurse, it is a saving of over £520 and for the typical police officer it is a saving of over £630 every single year.
He also handed businesses massive relief to form the “biggest package of tax cuts since the 1980s”.
And those on the lowest pay were granted a cash boost with the minimum wage, benefits and the state pension all given above-inflation hikes.
Chancellor Hunt also confirmed he will raise benefits in line with the highest inflation rate.
In a major move, Mr Hunt is set to uprate benefits by 6.7 per cent, aligning with September’s inflation rate.
There had been speculation the Chancellor would choose the October’s 4.6 per cent inflation figure as it would have saved the Government around £3 billion.
However, campaigners slammed Jeremy Hunt’s move, saying the Chancellor has “raised two fingers to working class people across the country”.
