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UK house sales down 11 per cent
UK house sales were down 11 per cent at 869,000, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs.
Unemployment and the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage have hit the number of sales, currently at half the volumes recorded before the financial crisis.
Transactions peaked at 1,671,000 in 2006 before plummeting to a record low of 859,000 in 2009.
Mortgage regulations are set to become even tighter while banks remain reluctant to lend, suggesting that a sales rebound is not imminent.