By Julian Whittle

Last updated 05:42, Friday, 05 September 2008

THE typical Cumbrian home has fallen in value by £3,432 since the county’s housing market peaked in March, official figures show.

The Government’s Land Registry reported that prices fell in July for the fourth month in a row.

The average home is now worth £143,033, down 0.3 per cent from £143,501 in June and from £146,465 in March – the highest figure ever recorded.

But despite the recent falls, property values in Cumbria are still 2.3 per cent higher than they were a year ago.

Estate agent Peter Hayward, of Peter Hayward Associates in Carlisle, agrees that prices are the falling.

He said: “The pressure is on prices.

“I’ve just taken an offer on a property that’s £95,000 below the asking price. That’s the kind of game that some purchasers are playing.

“It’s tough but homes are still changing hands. There are far too many over-valued properties, though.”

Nationally, the average home dropped in value by 0.6 per cent to £178,364 in July, making it worth 2.0 per cent less than in July 2007.

The steepest falls were in Wales and the East Midlands.

London is now the only region of England and Wales where prices have risen over the last 12 months.

The Land Registry’s figures are the most reliable snapshot of the property market because they are the only ones based on every property sold.

Its survey also shows how the credit crunch has dramatically cut the number of homes changing hands.

Nationally, an average of 59,622 homes were sold each month between February and May, down from 99,024 a month in the same period of 2007.

In Cumbria, a total of 2,232 homes sold between February and May, compared with 3,650 over the same period last year.