NEW sellers dropped their asking prices for the first time this year during July, as properties continued to flood on to the market, research indicates today.

The average asking price for a home in England and Wales fell by 0.6% to £236,332 during the four weeks to July 10, according to property website Rightmove.

The group said an average of 30,000 new homes were being put up for sale each week, 45% more than during July last year.

The average number of properties estate agents have on their books also rose for the fifth month in a row to reach 77, the highest level since August, 2008.

As a result, there are now five new properties on the market for every two potential buyers who have a mortgage approved.

Rightmove warned that conditions were rapidly shifting to become a buyers’ market, and it expects house prices to lose all of the gains they have made so far in 2010 during the second half of the year.

The average cost of a home has increased by 7% or £15,506 since the beginning of January to peak at £237,767 in June.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “The number of new mortgages being approved each month is less than half the number of new sellers, with the imbalance being exacerbated by the increase of nearly 50% in the number of properties coming to market compared to a year ago.

“More aggressive pricing is now the order of the day, which means that conditions are ripe for a strong buyers’ market in the second half of 2010. This is likely to see the average price gains of 7% for the first half of the year wiped out by year-end, in line with Rightmove’s original forecast for the year of no net change in prices.”

Today’s figures are the latest in a raft of gloomy data on the housing market, with Halifax recently saying prices fell for the third consecutive month during June.

A recent survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also showed that property professionals expect prices to fall during the coming months, after activity in the housing market has failed to pick up momentum following a subdued start to the year.

Asking prices rose in the South West, Wales, West Midlands and East Midlands during the month, with the South West leading the way with a rise of 2.8%, according to Rightmove.

But prices fell in all other regions, with East Anglia seeing the biggest slide of 2.3%, followed by Greater London at 1.7%.

THE average Briton would only be able to survive financially for a month if they were unable to work, a survey suggests today.

Around 21% of people admit they have no financial safety net in place to support them if they lost their job or were unable to work due to illness, while the average person has only enough money to last them for four weeks.

Instead, 25% of workers would rely on their partner to support them and 25% would turn to their family for help, according to insurer Unum.