17
Feb
Home sales may rise say surveyors
Property sales may pick up in the next few months, according to
a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(Rics).
It says lower house prices have prompted renewed interest from
potential buyers, especially those who already own a house or flat.
However first time-buyers are still largely locked out of the
market. Despite this recent rise in new buyer enquiries, Rics warns
that the market will remain relatively subdued. "Our suspicion is
that this improvement in activity levels is likely to be sustained
over the coming months; mortgage approvals could climb above 35,000
[per month] on the back of the higher level of buyer interest,"
said Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist. "However, this would
still be well down on the high for the cycle as well as being
significantly below the long run average," he warned. "By no means
could this relatively small pick-up in transactions be seen as
representing a move back to a more orderly housing market."
Lower prices
Rics has seen new buyer enquiries rise in the last three of its
regular monthly housing market surveys. It regards these findings
as a good indicator of near term tends among house buyers, pointing
to a pick up in sales, which slumped by more than half last year.
And this prompted it to ask its members what type of buyer has been
sniffing around, and what sort of home they are interested in. It
found that 71% of surveyors thought that low prices were the main
factor attracting interest
Prices have dropped by about 20% since their peak in the summer
of 2007, according to surveys by the Halifax and the Nationwide.
About three quarters of surveyors also thought that existing owner
occupiers were showing some interest, while just a quarter reported
that first-time buyers were looking around. And existing houses,
rather than flats or newly but properties, were the overwhelming
focus of the interest being shown by these potential buyers.
"Interest from owner occupiers is likely to persist over the
comings months as those with large deposits look to capitalise on
the drop in house prices," said Mr Rubinsohn, "However, a sharply
deteriorating employment picture may eat away at this improvement
in sentiment pushing potential buyers back to the sidelines."
BBC News. (2009). Home sales may rise say surveyors. Available
from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7893193.stm
(Accessed 17th February 2009).