14
Dec
ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE KEY TO HOUSING MARKET
A growing proportion of surveyors believe that economic
uncertainty is holding back housing market activity.
This was considered to be a bigger reason than the availability
of mortgages and worries about house price falls, the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.
However, the latest Rics survey shows a slight rise in buyer
demand and sales in November.
Price changes continue to show regional variations, another
survey found.
Subdued
New buyer enquiries "increased modestly" for a third consecutive
month, the Rics survey showed.
The average number of sales per surveyor branch climbed to 15.4
in the three months to the end of November, compared with 15 a
month earlier. This was the highest level since last September.
Slightly more surveyors expected sales to increase in the coming
months than the number who expected sales to fall.
However, these slight rises were coming after a sustained period
of subdued activity. More surveyors expect prices to fall in the
coming months, than the number who expected prices to rise.
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Annual house price changes
England: down 0.2%
Wales: down 0.5%
Scotland: down 1.5%
Northern Ireland: down 12.1%
Source: DCLG, October 2011
"A meaningful recovery still seems some way off," said Alan
Collett, Rics' housing spokesman.
House prices
The government's own house price index shows a continuing variation
in how property values are changing across the country.
Across the UK as a whole, house prices were up 0.6% in October
compared with the previous month, but down 0.4% on a year earlier,
the Department for Communities and Local Government said.