property prices
Experts still can’t agree on the UK housing market or the UK economy even with the latest “news on the streets” and access to the most up to date information they still seem to give contradictory information and forecasts especially in the short to medium term, as for predicting the direction of the market and the economy has never been harder. With that said the influential Ernst & Young Item Club issued a very encouraging and moderately upbeat report on the UK economy and the UK housing market, the upbeat survey from Experts at Ernst & Young believe that the UK economy is heading for a soft patch, with the UK housing market and the UK economy softening during the remainder of 2010 and into 2011 and forecast a reduction in house prices of 5% from the recent peak, on the downside the potential job losses in the public sector in the short to medium term could reach hundreds of thousands, which will have a knock-on effect on the private sector means that UK unemployment has yet to peak. Hopefully the Ernst & Young forecast for the economy is correct then we should avoid a double-dip recession.
Category : Blog
More Chartered Surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices for the first time since July 2009 as demand from purchasers slipped back and the number of properties coming to the market continued to increase, says the latest UK Housing Market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Eight per cent more surveyors reported a fall rather than rise in house prices – the lowest reading in more than a year, when sixteen per cent more reported price falls.
In contrast, last month saw eight per cent more surveyors reporting rising, not falling prices. Regionally, the only areas which continued to see material price rises in the past month were London and the North West.
Demand for property, measured by the net balance of new buyer enquiries, fell for the second month in a row, from -6 to -10. Difficulty in securing mortgages and increased uncertainty about the prospects for the economy may have contributed to caution from potential homebuyers.
The number of new vendor instructions, which in effect measures the amount of properties coming to the market, increased. 33% more surveyors reported a rise rather than fall in properties to their books, up from 28% in June.
This is the highest reading since May 2007, the month before the initial planned introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs). Since the abolition of HIPs in May this year, it appears some homeowners are now a little more willing to test the property market.
In keeping with the trend of increased supply to the market, the average number of properties on surveyors’ books also rose by 4.1% from June, taking the average to 69.1. Meanwhile, the average number of sales per surveyor stayed flat, at 16.6 (down 0.1%).
As a result, the sales to stock ratio – a useful indicator of market slack – fell to 24%, the lowest level since June 2009. Newly agreed sales remain largely unchanged, with one per cent more surveyors reporting a rise than fall in the number of transactions, down from three per cent in June.
Looking forward, expectations for house price increases have also turned negative, with 28% more surveyors expecting prices to fall over the coming months, up from six per cent in June. Despite this, sales expectations remain positive, with eight per cent more surveyors expecting sales to rise rather than fall, although this is down from the previous month.
RICS spokesperson, Ian Perry: “The fall in the RICS house price measure is broadly consistent with most other recent data that has been released. This is a reflection of both the increase in supply following the scrapping of HIPS and the more cautious stance from buyers.
“Significantly, the forward looking price expectations numbers suggest that this softer trend will continue through the second half of the year. However, agents are still generally optimistic about sales activity which should benefit from more realistic pricing of properties.”
Source: http://www.rics.org
Category : Blog
