House prices, car sales down again

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The slide, which more than wiped out the 2% rise in January, left the average home in the UK costing £160,327, according to Halifax.

It also helped to push up the annual rate at which prices are falling to a new high of 17.7% - based on the group's preferred measure of comparing prices during the previous three months with the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, new car sales, a key indicator of consumer confidence, fell sharply again last month.

There were 54,359 new vehicles registered in February, a 21.9% dip on the February 2008 total, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said: "New car registrations continue to decline and although the Government recognises the strategic importance of the UK motor industry, urgent action is still needed.

"Other European countries have been proactive in assisting their automotive industries and it is imperative that the UK Government increases the pace in responding to industry proposals for a scrappage scheme and access to finance and credit."