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House prices have fallen by around 17% in real inflation-adjusted terms since their peak in 2007 and, according to a recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), they may not regain their previous peak in real terms until 2020.

Nonetheless, this still implies 2% per annum real growth in house prices on average between 2010 and 2020. This reflects the fact that, although demand for housing (and credit availability) may not be as strong as in recent decades, housing supply is likely to remain constrained in the UK.

Although the number of new completed houses is up this quarter, they are still less than half of what’s needed to meet demand, Shelter has said.

Responding to recent figures that show housing completions rose by 1% to 26,550 this quarter, Shelter’s director of policy and campaigns Kay Boycott said:

There were 28,590 seasonally adjusted house building starts in England in the June quarter 2010. This is 13 per cent higher than in the previous quarter and 84 per cent above the trough in the March quarter 2009, but 42 per cent below their March quarter 2007 peak.

The latest national statistics on house building were released under the auspices of the UK Statistics Authority on 19 August 2010.

New seller supply continues to outstrip demand, and as the holiday season continues, Rightmove reports an average asking price fall of 1.7% (£4,091) across the 117,000 new properties added this month.

This is the biggest reduction in asking prices measured so far this year, and follows on from the drop of 0.6% in July.

It is not the best time to be a graduate job seeker.

A lack of vacancies has left almost 70 graduates chasing each new position and with at least 350,000 graduating from university every year and public sector cuts looming, the job outlook seems gloomy; some are predicting graduate unemployment levels to reach 25%.

A new benchmark for housing design in London will create bigger, brighter and more sustainable homes for the capital.

The London Development Agency has published the new London Housing Design Guide, which sets out the Mayor of London's aspirations for the design of new housing across the city.  It has been compiled after extensive consultation on a draft guide launched by the Mayor in July 2009.

One in three adults are thinking about the cold winter ahead and nearly half (44 per cent) are concerned about the impact this will have on their energy bills, a survey by the Home Heat Helpline has found.

It revealed that retired people are the most concerned about a winter similar to last year's cold snap, with one in two retirees worried about the high cost of bills.

Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £13.6 billion in July, a 5% increase from £12.9 billion in June but down 3% from £14 billion in July 2009, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In yesterday’s market commentary, CML economist Paul Samter said:

Sentiment in the construction sector began to decline again in the second quarter of the year, as fears over the scale of public spending cuts and ongoing uncertainty about prospects for the economy hit the construction industry, says RICS.

Despite some encouraging signs at the beginning of the year, latest data shows seven per cent more surveyors reporting a fall than rise in total construction workloads. This is in comparison to the previous quarter where five per cent more surveyors reported rising, rather than falling workloads.

Brits heading abroad for an extended trip away this year could risk leaving their homes uninsured if left unoccupied for more than 30 days warns moneysupermarket.com.

By analysing policies from top home insurance providers the research reveals home insurance policies could become invalid if left unoccupied for only 30 days, worrying news for the half million Brits who live abroad for part of the year and almost 300,000 people that head off on a career break or gap year in retirement each year.