House prices fall annual 1.9 pct in May

LONDON (Reuters) - House prices in England and Wales fell for an eighth month running in May, leaving them almost two percent lower than a year ago, a survey showed on Monday.

Figures from property research company Hometrack also showed a fall in new buyer registrations, a rise in the length of time a property spends on the market and a smaller proportion of the asking price being achieved.

Hometrack calculated house prices fell by an annual 1.9 percent this month, its biggest fall since November 2005. Compared with the previous month, prices fell by 0.5 percent after a 0.6 percent fall in April. The figures are not adjusted to take seasonal factors into account.

"The current trends in the survey indicate that pricing looks set to remain under downward pressure over the coming months," said Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research.

He said a "buyer's strike" was continuing with the number of buyers registering with estate agents falling 6.7 percent in May following a 2.8 percent fall in April.

The time taken to sell property rose to 9.8 weeks, four weeks longer than at the same time last year.

(Reporting by Christina Fincher)