At last house prices to stop inflating. All we need now is the 40% decrese to bring houses in line with what they are really worth, without the cheap supply of money lent to people at 7x their wage it won't be too far around the corner. I can't wait, maybe then I'll be able to afford a place to live in rather than renting.

John, Watford,

let the prices fall then maybe normal people will be able to get on the ladder.

jeremy, Ruislip,

The buy-to-let market is in trouble as rental yields are now basically negative, the City bonuses that have supported the London property market are not going to be paid this year. When this is combined with peoples inability to get new credit to fund their ongoing spending sprees and with no house price inflation to enable them to remortgage and pay off the credit card bills we are going to see a significant consumer slowdown and this could easily cause a major re-adjustment in house prices...
When the BofE finally realises that Northern Rock must be shut before more tax payers money is lent out at 4.6 times earnings and we see the next run on a bank as all the old ladies realise that their trusted savings institution is the mystery borrower at the Bank taking £5bn to keep themselves afloat the banking system will further pull in it's lending/credit books and there just won't be buyers of houses at the current prices. Sorry, but the UK housing market is in big trouble.

Rick, Zurich, Switz.

This was inevitable and it's amazing it didn't happen sooner. The price rises of the last few years have been out of all proportion to real supply and demand and market fundamentals. A country's economy can't rely on house price growth alone and it is foolish for people to expect to rely on one type of asset for their pension.

Roll on the return to normality in the housing market!

MB, Edinburgh,

I agree with James, a totally sensationalist headline. "Collapse" suggests something calamitous, whereas the story is merely one about a projected steady decline in house price growth.

Jonathan, Launceston,

Read Fred Harrison's "Boom Bust" - it all starts in 2008, crashing, leading to full recession by 2010. In "The Power in the Land" (1983), he rightly predicted the crash of the early nineties. Showing an eighteen year cycle, he continues in the same line for 2010. Brown's fantasy about having conquered the Boom Bust cycle is about to take a knock.

Andrew, Lyon, France

Yet another 'house price collapse' story. If you read carefully under the Sun-type headline you will find that house prices will stay as they are.

Wouldn't it be nice if all these self-styled 'experts' who have been predicting a house price meltdown since 2002 were made to stand up and explain why they were talking complete nonsense. But none of them have the guts to do it. House prices have never fallen and never will.

Roger Tilbury, Worthing,

House prices are coming down fast where I live in West London. I think the Nationwide figures are a little too optimistic. I'm sure they will revise them down when there prediction looks outer step with market reality.

Gavin, West London,

The housing market in the UK, like US, is over inflated,has been for many years, and the bubble will burst within the next 18months.You have unchecked people, who 10 years ago would be denied al loan, getting large loans for over priced and poorly built house all over the country. Its a recipe for disaster. Best thing to do, sell your house now, rent for 18 months or move to spain/portugal, then buy it back off the poor sod you sold to for 30-40% less. Unless you want to keep paying a 200,000GBP+ mortgage for a house worth much less.

luke, perth, australia

Sensational headline? It is indeed 100% decline in house price growth. That qualifies as a collapse!

Stephen, San Francisco, USA

must be a quiet newsday again.......so what if they do come down, equally i'd put a stop to 2nd/3rd home investment...see what happens to house prices then!! Tell me how in the South East a first time buyer on a decent salary level of say £35k a year, can afford to buy a decent property.compared to say 5 years ago>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dan Gleebles, Essex,

Do these people forget that flats and houses are where people live? They are not purely investments for most people. I am buying a flat right now because I need somewhere to live. I don't have the choice of waiting until next year when prices may have fallen. So there will always be people buying places to live despite the economic climate. As a first time buyer the longer you wait, the further you are priced out.

And how can they end the article with the fact there are still widespread housing shortages? Surely this means there is more demand than supply and therefore prices will continue to rise? Especially in London.

The media has a big part to play with headlines like this.

Debi, London,

Those who cite the HIP as a reason not to move house have no real motivation to move anyway. The cost of a HIP (£300-400) is insignificant to the total cost of moving house...Stamp Duty, estate agent commission, your survey and searches, removals, etc.

These people often market their property at inflated prices, and just want to feel good about how much their house as “earned” for them. Clearing these timewasters out of the market is a benefit to all.

K Jirackova, Newcastle,

How many people put their houses on the market before the HIPs became mantatory? There's always the backlash from that remarkably foolish piece of legislation to consider.

Steve Spurrell, London, England

This should be seen as good news. Excessive house prices are one of the UK's most damaging problems.

Oliver Chettle, Bedford,

Growth to collapse. What nonsense. The remainder of the piece seems fair enough, but this housing market cooling off is much heralded and long overdue. If there is no real collapse in house prices in this time of global uncertainty, that will be worth writing about.

Andy, Plymouth, UK

This news - oh i mean, prediction - is overflogged. Take a break and let us know when prices do fall so we can get in there and buy houses on the cheap.

Annie, Cambridge, UK

Ali, London, UK. If you're correct, surely that means HIPs are keeping prices high by artificially constraining supply? If prices are falling despite this, surely people will realise that they will lose far more by not selling now than the few hundred pounds a HIP costs. Once this happens, a flood of property to the market will send prices into freefall.

A more general comment, why does the Times keep printing this rubbish? Point me to the last three occassions when a mainstream commentator predicted correctly the upward or downward movement of prices to the nearest percentage point. They always get it wrong so why waste so many trees printing it? My prediction, minus 15% by this time next year across most of the country.

Clive, Sussex, UK

I still fail to see why the cost of housing - surely the most basic need, is not included in normal inflation figues in the UK. For anyone living outside the country the rise in the cost of housing over the last five years is nothing other than astonishing.

David Giles, Düsseldorf,

It was a big mistake by the government to allow the house prices to grow to current levels, they should have interfered similar to central banks control over inflation. This is a bubble and when it bursts it can make a lot of damage to other parts of the economy.
One of the key drivers of the house price growth was the assumption that house prices will always grow. That is not true and another shock in the “Northern Rock” style may trigger a decline (not collapse, but gradual decline).

Ruben, London, UK

Spring?..when those waiting for tax breaks sell, and when serious sellers who held out to see market direction become forced sellers.

The BOE panic is based on slowing growth. If unemployment is rising why will economic migrants arrive?

Even if rates are cut mortgage costs will not fall. Or has no one noticed a credit crunch has started?

Cutting interest rates when China is exporting inflation? Services inflation has been roaring for years, but was offset by goods deflation. If services inflation remains and good prices are even just stable, we will have high prices, or a collapse in profits and so shares.

Halifax and Nationwide reports are artwork. When interest rates may go up they focus on negative housing news but provide reasons why the market will remain decent in the press release overall (trying to scare the BOE while reassuring buyers). When the housing market is weakening and the BOE is not expected to be close to raising interest rates, they focus on positives

Raj, London,

Have you noticed that the frequent press comment and announcements are all pointing to an increasingly negative prospect for house prices. This is being released in incremental stages - each stage or utterance is slightly more negative than the last. I suspect that these commentators are reluctant to come out and say what everyone of us mortals (or most of use who are honest) really belive. That is because house prices have for the last two years consistently defied gravity.
House prices are now set to come down sharply to a level where they are at last affordable for the first time buyer.

Diddly do, Liverpool,

At last!

People will now buy houses as homes - to be lived in - and not as investments , expecting to make a killing when prices rise.

Houses are for living in, not blue chip investments.

Tony Jordan, Swanage, Dorset, UK

I think this report is amazingly optimistic, the fall in house prises is already happening, my guess would be a 30% drop for next year, not too ambitious given the US model. The sound fundamentals are crumbling to the core.

charlie, wolverhampton, UK

Articles such as this merely fuel the loss of consumer confidence in the economy and the situation surrounding house prices becomes self fullfilling. Price rises were unsustainable but the Nationwide's prediction that prices will be flat for a while is hardly the end of the world considering that those of us with property have benefitted substantially over the last few years. It is not helpful to be sensationalist when there is market uncertainty - please try to maintain fair and balanced reporting of the real issues.

MP, London,

So when house price growth goes from 1% to 15% per annum in a year, it's acceptable to use a headline like "house prices soar / boom / surge", as many headlines of the past few years have said. When the boot is on the other foot, however, and growth goes from 15% per annum to 1%, somehow that's sensationalist?

How does that work?

The facts are the facts and if journalists use sensationalist language to promote some facts they should be free to do the same will all facts. Investors and overcommitted people who are running scared should just take their medicine and deal with it. Did anyone really think that house prices could continue to rise at 15% per annum forever??

MB, Edinburgh,

...It's about time Britain realized that homes for sale - in Britain are, and have been grossly overvalued - for the past ten years...fueled mostly by the Estate Agents; higher price - higher commission - duh!

...Please show me these affluent immigrants that are buying property at the moment in Britain? Complete hog wash!

This is a great time to buy in Florida - by the way! You would get more for your money, and better quality.

pat, FL, USA/ExPat,

Even a fall in house price growth will affect the delicate feelgood factor of the highly indebted British household and curb their spending, resulting in economic slowdown. That is why the level of house price growth is in itself very important to the policy makers and in particular the BoE. If we avoid a fall in actual house prices then even a stagnation could be disastrous for UK consumption at the current interest rate. That is why a speedy sizeable rate reduction is imperative if we are to have any chance of riding out the coming storm.

Peter, Lincoln, England

when you say "house price growth to collapse", you mean "house prices to remain flat", don't you?

personally, I suspect the market will pick up in the spring, but even if the nationwide is right there is no reason to spook the horse with a misleading headline.

at some point, the government will reform hips. maybe quietly in a good week to bury news of further incompetence.

jem, london, uk

been hearing this for years ... aside from HIPS and interest rates, nothing really had changed except for the growing demand for accommodation from european and other immigrants. It seems that interest rates might fall soon, so that should give the market a new impetus

madeira4u, Madeira, Portugal

I agree...a bit sensationalistic. At the end of the day, it is impossible to predict house price and economic performance for definite.

Angela, Cambridge, England

Bit of a sensationalist headline - sort of thing i'd expect from the Beeb website. After X straight years of positive growth in prices, a flattening of growth is hardly the housing cataclysm your article makes it out to be.

James, London,

Good article. However, most commentators are failing to add the HIPS factor to the collapsing market. Almost all of the home owners we have spoken to have the feeling that it is time to stay put rather than put their house on the market at a cost of employing a surveyor and going through the inconvenience before being able to put their property on the market; and that includes us.

Ali, London, UK