House prices in the UK have fallen by a staggering 14.7% according to the Nationwide.

Nationwide said prices fell by another 2.5% in December taking the average house price down to £153,048. The company said that prices have now fallen for 14 months and they are 18% lower than their peak in October 2007.

Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "Northern Ireland is still suffering from the largest falls in house prices in the UK. The annual rate of fall is now at 34.2%, the biggest ever annual fall recorded in the Nationwide Index.

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"Turning to the other countries of the UK, Wales and Scotland outperformed the UK average both over the quarter and over the year. Scotland continues to experience the smallest falls in the UK."

Wales has preformed fairly well in the final quarter of 2008. House prices fell by 12.1% in the last year, less than the UK average of 14.7%. This was the third smallest annual fall in prices in the UK in 2008.

House prices in England fell by a seasonally adjusted 4.8% between the third and fourth quarters, leaving them 14.8% lower than this time last year.

The North continues to perform better than the South in the fourth quarter of 2008. Prices in the North fell by 13.8% while prices in the South fell by 15.4%.

(CD/KMcA)