Good evening and welcome to the BBC's News at 6. The days when homes felt like money-making machines are over. House prices have now fallen by more than 10 percent in the past year. That’s the biggest drop in value since the housing crash of 1990. According to the Nationwide prices have now fallen for 10 months in a row.
And as our business correspondent Amma Simpson reports, the downturn is not over yet. House prices are tumbling and fast. The average U.K. house has lost nearly 20,000 pounds in value in the last year. The Nationwide says it’s the biggest annual fall since 1991 when its records began - a drop of 10.5 percent.
“Affordability has been very stretched for sometime. We’ve also seen further squeezes on people’s income as food and fuel prices have been increasing. We’ve now seen an increase in unemployment, and there’s a bit of a gloomier feel about the economy in general. So that’s all affecting sentiment."
And it’s hurting the entire housing chain. Fewer people are buying new homes. Britain’s house builders are cutting jobs as they struggle to survive. Old house or new, buyers are thin on the ground. Gillian Horrocks-Taylor wants a new home, but she isputting her purchase on hold, waiting for potential stamp duty relief.
The phones aren’t ringing so much at the estate agentaround the corner. They’ve got plenty to sell, but the market has virtuallyground to a halt. “It’s tough for us because, of course, we rely on… on transactions. We rely on sales, um, and… and, uh, at the moment that’s not happening.
But it’s not the same story everywhere. Although there is no regional breakdown in today’s report, latest figures show that Scotland is bucking the trend. The overall U.K. picture, though, is gloomy. So what can be done to halt the slowdown? Well, interest rates are a key tool. But the dilemma for the Bank of England is how to rein in inflation and at the same time keep Britain out of recession. Some economists are predicting a cut in interest rates sooner rather than later. But with confidence so low this alone may not be enough to kick start the market. A Simpson, BBC News.
※ picture 1. 묘사 , 서술 (a description or idea of what someone or something is like) * picture of : ex. My friends had a rather distorted picture of my life. * paint a picture (of something) (=give a description of something): ex. The report paints a rather gloomy picture of life in the inner cities. 2. the picture : 장면 , 광경 , 모습 , 상황 (a situation) ex. The picture has changed a lot in the last couple of weeks. 3. get the picture : to understand something, especially something that someone tells you indirectly ex. He never tells you the whole story, but you always get the picture. = get the idea 4. 그림같이 아름다운 것 , 미인 , 아름다운 경치 ex. She is a picture in her new dress. 새옷을 입은 그녀의 모습은 그림처럼 아름답다 .
crash : 와르르, 쿵, 쾅하는 소리, (비행기의) 추 락, (가격의)폭락, (차의)충돌, 와지끈 [산산이] 부서지다 [부서뜨리다], 무섭게 충돌하다 [시키 다], 추락하다 [시키다] ex. The car skidded and I thought we were going to crash. ex. Three people were killed when their car crashed into a tree. ex. on his way to the party, Cliff crashed his car. 클리프는 차를 박았 다. * clash : 땡땡 [울리는 소리], 충돌하기, [견해·이익의] 충돌, [큰 소 리를 내며] 충돌하다, 심하게 부딪치다 (crash 가 물체의 충돌인 데 대하여 clash 는 주로 추상적인 충돌.) ex. It came down with a clash. 그것이 쨍그랑 소리를 내며 떨어졌다. ex. This plan clashes with his interests. 이 계획은 그의 이익과 상충한 다. ex. I clashed with him. 나는 그와 의견이 충돌했다. / ex. the clash of opinions 의견의 충돌 Nationwide : Nationwide Building Society (영국의 최대 주택 조합) * building society 영국의 주택 조합 in a row : 잇따라, 연속적으로 ex. arrange chairs in a row[two rows] : 의자를 한 [두] 줄로 늘어놓다 downturn : (경기 등의) 하강, 하향 (decline), 침체 ex. a severe economic downturn * downturn in: There has been a sharp downturn in demand in recent months. tumble : 구르다, 뒹굴다, 넘어지다, (건 물 등이)무너지다, 붕괴하다, (가격·가치 따위가) 폭락하다, 뒹굴 기, 추락, (주가 따위의) 하락, 폭락 annual : 1년의, 1년에 걸치는, 해마다의 연례 의 affordable : (가격 등이) 알맞은, 감당할 수 있는 (cheap enough for ordinary people to afford) ex. affordable housing/childcare stretched : 쪼들리는(having difficulty doing everything that you should because you lack the necessary time, money, people, or equipment) ex. Can you make it quick? I'm really stretched for time tonight. ex. He is stretched for money 돈에 쪼들리다 squeeze : 밀어[쑤셔]넣다 (into), ~ 을 짜다 [압착하다], ~ 을 경제적으로 압박하다, <돈.물품을> (남에게서) 억지 로 빼앗다, 압착 (하기[되기]), 압박, 짜기, 꽉 쥐기, 갈취, 협박, 강요, 궁지, 곤경 ex. Small businesses are being squeezed by heavy taxation. gloomy : <방·날씨 등이> 어두운, 음침한 음울한, <사람·기분 등이> 우울한(melancholy) ex. gloomy skies 잔뜩 흐린 하늘 / ex. a gloomy prospect 우 울한(암담한) 전망 in general : 대개, 대체로 일반적으 로, 전반적으로 sentiment : 1. [uncount] 감정, 정서 2. [count or uncount] a belief or an attitude toward something (감정이 섞인) 의견, 의향, 생각 ex. Those are my sentiments. 그것이 나의 의견이 다. thin on the ground : 많지 않은 ex. Good managers are often thin on the ground. on hold : 연기된, 보류된, 중지된 / if something is on hold, you have stopped it from happening now, but it may happen later ex. put something on hold : After the accident her career had to be put on hold. stamp duty : 인지세 = stamp tax estate : 소유지, (별장.정원 등이 있는) 사유지, 재산 ex. real estate 부동산 estate agent : 《영》 부동산 중개업자 (《미》 real estate agent) around the corner : 모퉁이를 도는 곳에, 머지 않은 곳에 (not far away) , 임박하여 (coming very soon) ex. Spring is just around the corner. virtually : 사실상, 거의 grind to a halt : (차가) 끼익 소리내며 서다, (활동·행렬 따위가) (천천 히) 멈추다 * grind : <맷돌이> 돌다, <기어·바퀴 등 이> 삐거덕거리다, 끽끽 소리나다, ~을 빻다, 가루를 만들다, 빻아지다, 가루가 되다,《미구어》힘써 일하다[공부하다] ex. grind for an exam 시험에 대비하여 부지런히 공부하다. ex. There are signs that the economy is grinding to a halt. * bring the car to a halt 차를 세우다 / ex. come/draw to a halt: The taxi came to a halt outside his front door. rely on : ~ 에 의존하다, 의지하다 transaction : 거래 (v. transact) at the moment : 바로 지금, 바로 그때 breakdown : (기계 열차 등의)고장, 파손, 붕괴, 와해, (정신육 체 등의) 쇠약, 분류 * nervous breakdown : 신경쇠약 buck the trend : 추세를 거스르다/ to succeed in doing something even though there is a general tendency for this not to happen ex. While other newspapers are losing circulation, we are bucking the trend. ex. The company believes it is bucking the recession and says orders continue to be satisfactory. slowdown : 감속, 경제 둔화, 경기 둔화 * slow down : 속력을 늦추다, 속력이 떨어지다, (경제가) 둔화되다 rein : [종종 pl.] 고삐, 통제 수단, 통제, 지배, <말에> 고 삐를 매다, (고삐를 당겨) <말을> 세우다, (고삐를 당겨) <말의> 보조를 늦추다 * rein in : 고삐를 당겨 <말을> 세우다, ~을 억제하다 sooner rather than later : 곧, 조만간 kick-start : 1. <오토바이 등을> 킥 스타터를 밟아 시동을 걸다, 2. to make something start again after it has stopped or slowed down ex. The administration hopes to kick-start the economy by dropping interest rates. * jump-start :〔배 터리가 나가거나 약한 자동차〕를 밀어서[다른 차의 배터리에 연결해서] 시동시 키다[엔진을 걸다], 활성화하다 , (자동차를) 밀어서[다른 차의 배터리와 연결시켜] 시동 걸기, (정체된 경제 따위의) 활성화, 활력소 / to make something work successfully after a period of failure ex. attempts to jump-start the economy