LONDON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The average house price in the United Kingdom dropped slightly in March 2019 compared with a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The UK House Price Index showed that the average house price was 227,000 British pounds (287,300 U.S. dollars) in March, down 0.2 percent from February and some 3,000 British pounds higher than in the same period a year ago.
In March, the average property value in London was 463,283 British pounds, down 0.4 percent from February.
In March, average house prices in the UK rose year-on-year by 1.4 percent, while in London they were down 1.9 percent.
Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, commented that "London house prices have been falling for 5 consecutive months but remain 55.2 percent higher than at the pre-crisis peak."
"The fall in demand in London has not been fully reflected in house prices as anyone that does not need to sell has taken their home off the market so as long as unemployment remains low there are few 'forced sellers' and only muted house price falls," Francis said. (1 British pound = 1.27 U.S. dollars)
