According to the Land Registry average house prices in Lancashire reached their lowest in August 09 and have since risen to £117,750 in December 2009, equal to February 2006. This change is fairly uniform across the range of houses from detached to apartment.
The peak average house price was February 2008 at £136,688. Is it a coincidence that peaks and troughs occur in February although the minimum was £114,291 in August 2009 which being 6 months from February, is there something in the 6 month cycle?
Prices rose at around £1000 a month up to February 2008 and that was during a boom. Anyone having bought a house between February 2006 and February 2009 is likely to be owning a property worth less than they paid for it. This happened to us in 1980 and it took a few years to get back. Fortunately we were in no hurry to move. If we’d had to move because of work for example it would be difficult to know if commuting a long distance would be preferable to selling at a loss. All our circumstances are different depending on how much deposit you placed for example.