London Home Prices Set for First Annual Drop Since 2009

London house prices are set to fall for the first time since 2009 next year as a lack of affordability and proposals for a so-called mansion tax deter buyers, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said.

Values will slip 2.6 percent after surging 17 percent in 2014, the CEBR said in a statement today. Nationally, prices will decline 0.8 percent after rising 7.8 percent as the prospect of higher interest rates quells demand, it said.