The price of a typical house fell by 0.4% in April according to the latest figures by the Nationwide.

April's decline leaves the average price of a house at £151,861, down 15% from a year ago.

Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "The chancellor announced several measures aimed at boosting the housing market in his Budget. The scheme for government guarantees for new, high-quality residential mortgage backed

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securities are welcome and may help to boost the amount of mortgage credit available. However, since the availability of credit is only part of the reason why the housing market is in the doldrums it is unlikely to lead to a swift turnaround in its fortunes. Lenders have already indicated that the

availability of credit is less of an issue than it has been, but at the same time expect that the demand for secured lending will fall further."

Ms Earley also commented that the economy is now in the deepest recession since the Second World War and unemployment is continuing to increase.

She continued: "Even though negative inflation will mean that real earnings will be increasing, it is likely to be some time before this feeds into a strong enough change in sentiment to encourage a full scale revival in the housing market."

(CD/JM)