Tuesday, 25 September 2007House prices fall for first time in two years
Property prices are falling for the first time in two years due to a drop in demand, a leading housing market survey revealed today.
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The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors study, released today, said that inquiries from potential buyers suffered their biggest fall for three years in August and prospects looked dim for the market picking up in the near future.
The influential report, based on a poll of estate agents and surveyors, showed property values falling in the Midlands, the North West, East Anglia, Wales, and Yorkshire and Humberside.
London and the South East, the South West and Scotland are still seeing an increase but on average prices are down.
It said that 1.8% more chartered surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in August, down from 10.8% more reporting a rise in July.
New instructions to sell property fell for the third month in succession and Rics said the stock of unsold property on surveyor's books declined with levels down 10% on year-ago levels.
The number of four bedroom houses on the market has declined by 51% compared to a year ago, potentially pushed down by the August home information packs deadline for four-bedroom, or larger, homes and the high cost of moving, especially at the top of the market.
Rics said that weakening demand, driven by rising interest rates, had severely dented surveyor confidence in the outlook for house prices.
Ian Perry, Rics spokesman, said: 'Potential house buyers have become far more cautious as they wait and see what affect interest rate rises will have on household finances. |