LONDON: Further evidence emerged yesterday that the housing recovery is running out of steam with data from Hometrack showing prices dipped during July, the first decline in 15 months.

Prices have fallen 0.1% this month as demand waned, supply rose and homes took longer to sell, the company said.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said prices would fall further. "In recent months, much of the pent-up demand which stretched back to mid 2009, has now either been satisfied or dissipated," he said. "Further modest price falls are inevitable over the second half of the year."

Another survey out yesterday shows that the budget has left households at their most pessimistic about their finances since the depths of the recession. Public sector workers were particularly gloomy about job security and pay, according to the Markit/YouGov household finance index for July.

Tim Moore, economist at Markit said: "Households' pessimism about their future finances has returned to levels not seen since the economy was in freefall towards the beginning of 2009."

In a further gloomy report yesterday, campaign group, the National Housing Federation, warned that more than half a million people could be added to housing waiting lists - and 283,000 construction industry jobs lost or not created - if the government slashes the affordable house-building budget by 40%.