UK house sales have returned to 2009 levels, according to the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors (RICS), with only 14 properties sold per surveyor in the three months to August. Economic uncertainty and a lack of mortgage finance continue to make an impact, added to which 40% of RICS members believe fears over house price [...]
RICS
Rents continue upward trend
A worrying level of undersupply continues in the UK private rental sector, with new tenant demand having pushed up rents yet again. According to the latest Residential Lettings Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a balance of 34% more surveyors reported a rise in rents rather than a fall during the three [...]
RICS: house price expectations negative
The April 2011 housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows a “broad based” improvement in market conditions, when compared with March. More surveyors reported house price falls, rather than rises, but for 82% of those reporting falls, declines did not exceed 2%. London was the only region of England where [...]
RICS: housing market recovery “some way off”
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has declared that the UK housing market remained flat during March, although with regional divergences widening. Overall, there was a slight downturn in demand for property compared with February but surveyors in areas such as Scotland, Wales and the South East reported a steady increase in new-buyer enquiries. [...]
Housing market sees stronger regional variations
The UK housing market is experiencing strong regional variations, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
London was the only region to record a positive reading for house prices in February, while outside the Capital 26% more RICS members surveyed saw prices fall, rather than rise, with the East of [...]
RICS: rents increase rapidly
Strong tenant demand resulted in rents rising rapidly in the three months to the end of January, according to the latest Residential Lettings Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Forty per cent more chartered surveyors reported rising rather than falling rents, the highest positive reading in the survey’s history.
A shortage of mortgage [...]
RICS: housing market remains sluggish
The UK housing market remained sluggish during January, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports.
Lack of buyer demand and low levels of supply meant that 7% more surveyors reported demand for property falling, rather than rising, with potential purchasers remaining cautious about the outlook for the economy, and the possibility of mortgage rate increases [...]
Flat-pack and recycled homes to alleviate UK housing crisis
Traditional building methods need to make room for cost effective, sustainable designs if the UK’s housing crisis is to be alleviated, a report commissioned by the Royal Society of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) claims.
According to the study, modular homes can be constructed off-site within 12 weeks, and then transported to a given location, at a cost [...]
UK house sales stabilise but outlook “mixed”
UK house sales stabilised at the end of 2010, but the outlook for the property market remains mixed, says the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
In the three months to December, the average number of completed sales per surveyor stood at 15.2 with transactions highest in the East Midlands [...]
RICS: house prices to lose 2% in 2011
In its forecast for 2011, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says it expects UK house prices to finish the year 2% down.
While the value of the average home is likely to continue to slip over the coming months, falling supply should stabilise the market at some stage before July, with prices possibly edging [...]
RICS: house prices slip further
Activity in the UK housing market continued to slow during November, with house prices slipping further, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Forty-four per cent more chartered surveyors reported falling (rather than rising) prices, as lack of demand continued to stifle the market; regionally, the West Midlands and Northern [...]
Stamp Duty return could have detrimental effect on regional housing market recovery – RICS
A return to the previous bands for stamp duty, when the current holiday is due to end on the 31st December 2009, could have a detrimental effect on the recovery of the housing market in regions that are already lagging behind, according to the latest research from RICS.
More surveyors in the West and East Midlands, Wales and Scotland believe that they will see a drop in activity in 2010 following the end of the stamp duty holiday for properties priced between £125k and £175k at the end of the year. Tellingly more surveyors in Wales and the East Midlands were still seeing price falls rather than rises in the last housing market survey. Meanwhile in the West Midlands, only 3 percent more surveyors saw prices rising in October.
Overall, however, the majority of Chartered Surveyors are not expecting the end of the stamp duty holiday to have a distorting effect on the housing market despite the benefit it has provided first-time buyers. Unsurprisingly it is those working in London and the South East who overwhelmingly agree that it is not forcing more houses onto the market now, and will not lead to a drop in activity once the old system is re-introduced. However, this is more a reflection on the fact that the holiday has had limited impact in these regions as the average house price is well above that of the stamp duty threshold.
Similarly in the North, where the average price is well below the threshold at £116,051, there is less concern about the impact of the end of the stamp duty holiday. However the regions that are most concerned about the impact are those whose average prices sit well within the margins that are directly affected by the holiday. These are the East Midlands (£133,973), the West Midlands (£142,969), Wales (£134,690) and Scotland (£140,175).
At the time of its introduction, we did question how great an impact this policy would have and judging by the fact that only surveyors in certain parts of the country are particularly concerned about the ending of the holiday, it could be said that some areas of the UK hardly even noticed the change.
“However the additional transaction cost is still a worry to many, particularly first-time buyers, and is a threat to the market in the areas of the country that are still seeing a weak price environment. A return to the status quo will be of benefit to no one, and as such RICS believes that rather than simply reverting back to the old structure for Stamp Duty, the imminent change provides an opportunity for the Government to introduce a wholesale restructuring of the tax. Specifically RICS favours moving from the current slab structure to a marginal system with no homebuyer paying anything on the first £150,000 of their new home.”
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist
The additional questions asked in the RICS October Housing market Survey were:
- Is the planned ending of the Stamp Duty holiday on properties priced between £125K and £175K contributing to the higher level of activity in the housing market?
- Do you expect this decision to lead to a drop in activity in the early part of 2010?
Further reading:
RICS has suggested the referenced change to Stamp Duty Land Tax as part of its Pre-Budget Report submission to the Treasury. The full submission is available at http://www.rics.org/externalaffairs
