Surveyors Report Upturn in Housing Market
Surveyors reporting that UK house prices were rising in the three months from June to August outnumbered those reporting falling values for the first time in two years. The figures issued by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveal that the net balance of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices over the last three months reached 11% in August, the highest level since May 2007.
The survey also revealed that the average number of sales per surveyor over the last three months had inched up to 17, the highest number since May 2008. The upturn has prompted a rise in price expectations with the net balance of surveyors expecting an increase rather than decline in prices over the next three months reaching 17%, up from 7% in July.
The report is the latest to indicate an improvement in the property market. Earlier this month ESPC reported that the average house price in Edinburgh had risen annually for the first time since July 2008, whilst at a national level, HBOS reported that August saw the second consecutive monthly rise in the average UK house price.
Commenting on the news David Marshall, business analyst with ESPC, said: "The latest figures from RICS certainly provide more evidence of an improvement in the market, though it is important to put this in context. At present house prices are being supported in part by a lower number of new properties coming onto the market and it is likely that interest rates will increase over the short to medium term.
With that said, there has been a steady improvement in activity and market sentiment over recent months. Whilst there is no expectation that we will see a quick return to the sort of rapid house price inflation we witnessed for much of the last decade, prices have remained stable for much of 2009 and we are likely to see this stability continue in coming months."
You can view the RICS housing market survey here, or you can view all the latest house price reports on Edinburgh and East Central Scotland in our Market Watch section.