Potential home buyers continued to test the market during March as the stamp duty holiday finally came to an end, says the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Nine per cent more surveyors reported increases rather than decreases in demand, the highest reading in almost two years, and the flow of [...]
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Housing market pessimism begins to lift
The February survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is to be welcomed, as surveyors were at their most optimistic in almost two years. Transaction levels continued to rise – the average number of sales per estate agency branch increased to 16 last month, up almost 4% in the last quarter. However, the [...]
House sales steady but prices fall
UK house sales remained steady in December, despite a rise in the amount of new stock coming to market and no signs of a revival in mortgage lending. According to the latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the average number of completed sales per respondent stood at 15.2 in [...]
House price fears add to market gloom
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 [...]
Mortgage brokers optimistic on buy-to-let
A new survey gauging brokers’ expectations of the buy-to-let market paints a positive outlook for the coming year. The study, from Nationwide subsidiary The Mortgage Works, found that a majority of brokers surveyed believe the number of new landlords will increase this year, and that very few professional landlords will be looking to shed part [...]
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 [...]
Rental demand to outstrip supply into 2012
Demand for private rental sector (PRS) property will continue to outstrip supply for much of 2011 and into next year, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) claims.
In a survey of members, ARLA found that 59% of agents believe tenants will be competing for properties this year, although almost four in ten thought that more [...]
Private rental voids cut on supply shortage
UK private rental properties are being let within 15 days on average, according to property services group, Countrywide.
The firm’s latest quarterly survey shows that the time taken to secure a tenant has fallen by five days in a year, as an average 4.4 tenants line up for each available home.
In the final three months of [...]
Britons lose faith in property investment
Britons are falling out of love with property, with the number of people who see bricks and mortar as the best long-term investment falling by almost a third in the final three months of 2010.
Of 2,500 people surveyed, 34% rated property as the best long-term investment, down from 49% in the previous three month [...]
Tenant arrears rise as rent increases loom
The UK’s private rental sector saw tenant arrears rise to almost 12% of all private rent in December, up 2% compared with a month earlier, according to the latest survey from property group, LSL.
Total arrears, estimated at £276 million, were at their highest since December 2009, with rising unemployment likely to drive the figure into [...]
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 [...]
