New report exposes large fall in Kingswood and Bristol house prices.

HOUSE prices in Kingswood have fallen by as much as 6 per cent in the last 12 months - the fourth largest drop nationwide - a new report has said.

The alarming figures have been published in the latest property survey by Hometrack, which provides information about the UK housing and mortgage industries.

The sharp decline in property prices means that, a house in Kingswood valued at £150,000 in 2007 is now estimated to be worth £140,700 - a loss of £9,300.

In response Chris Skidmore, the Conservative Prospective MP for the Kingswood constituency, described the findings as "a deeply worrying situation."

He said: " This is a deeply worrying situation for many families, who will now be struggling to meet the rising costs of mortgages.

"For too long our economy has been built on a mountain of debt and has been propped up on the booming housing market."

The latest report by Hometrack was released this week. Comparing house prices from March 2007 to March 2008 it shows there have been sharp house price falls in the Bristol area.

The highest house price falls in the Bristol area are in the BS15 postcode - or Kingswood - with a house price drop of -6.2 per cent, while in BS5 (St Anne's) it has fallen by 5.9 per cent on last year.

This makes house price falls in Kingswood the 4 th worst in the country - and that a property valued at £150,000 in 2007 is now valued at £140,700 today.

Chris, who has compiled a report on the number of Bristol households at risk from the credit crunch, said: "With houses prices falling in Kingswood now falling faster than many places around the country, people will be wondering why our economy wasn't prepared adequately to deal with the credit crunch.

"An economy dependent on large scale debt and borrowing is an economy living on borrowed time.'

Chris's comments come the day after a closely watched survey of property surveyors showed c onfidence in the UK housing market fell in March to its lowest point in 30 years.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) said that 78.5 per cent more surveyors reported a fall in house prices during March, than those reporting a rise.

This was the gloomiest reading since Rics began the survey in 1978, and prompted it to say the next six months would be "crucial for homeowners and would-be buyers" in the UK.

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