13
Apr
House-seller numbers 'outweighing buyers'
The number of people trying to sell their homes has hit its
highest level since May 2007, the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (Rics) said.
Rics said new instructions from sellers in March outstripped
enquiries from would-be buyers for the third month in a row.
Price increases were still more common than price falls last
month across the UK, Rics said.
But the surveyors' body said prices would stabilise in the next
few months
"With the general election approaching and uncertainty growing
over the political direction of the country, many vendors who were
previously inclined to sit on the sidelines now appear eager to put
their properties on the market," said Rics spokesperson Ian
Perry.
"However, with stocks increasing and sales decreasing we may see
some modest price falls in some regions although London, the South
East and Scotland are continuing to perform well," he added.
Sales
The latest monthly Rics survey indicated that prices during
March had dropped in East Anglia, Yorkshire & Humberside, the
north of England, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland, but had
continued to rise strongly in London, the South East and
Scotland.
An apparent shortage of properties for sale has been cited by
most commentators as the main reason for the surprising rise in
house prices, which started in spring 2009.
Although the precise scale of the rebound is disputed, with
different figures being generated by different surveys, there is
little doubt that the recent trend has been upwards.
Despite prices falling in February - a dip widely attributed to
the effects of the very cold winter, and a hiatus in the market
caused by the reintroduction at the start of the year of the old
stamp duty threshold of £125,000 - they picked up again in
March, according to surveys from leading lenders.
But while the Halifax says prices are now 5.2% higher than a
year ago, its rival the Nationwide puts the annual increase at
9%.
Meanwhile the Land Registry for England & Wales currently
puts the annual rate of house price inflation at 7%.
Reflecting the low level of completed sales since the start of
the year, Rics said the average number of sales per surveyor had
dropped from 18 in the previous three months to 17, but predicted
that the market would pick up.
"Activity is expected to rise over the coming months, but at a
more subdued pace, meanwhile, prices are expected to more or less
stabilise over the coming months," Rics said.
source: www.bbc.co.uk/news Tuesday 13th
April 2010