15th Jun 2010
House prices in the South East edged up in May, but the Government's decision to abolish HIPS has given supply a boost, says the latest UK Housing Market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Thirty seven percent more chartered surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in house prices, up from 31% in April. This contrasts with surveyors still reporting house price falls in many parts of the country including the north and west.
Government announcements are already showing signs of impacting on the South East market. Surveyors report that the decision to abolish HIPS has pushed more supply onto the South East market. The net balance of surveyors reporting rises in new instructions moved from 3% in April to 13% in May. This trend is likely to continue in the near term.
In response to an additional question included in the survey, 73% of surveyors nationally said that they expect the decision on HIPS to lead to higher levels of new instructions with the actual increase in supply anticipated to be around 15%. Buyer interest continued to increase, albeit minimally. Two percent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries, up from minus 3%.
Activity is expected to rise over the coming months with many surveyors in the South East considerably more optimistic than last month despite fears of cuts. The sales expectations net balance rose strongly from 20% to 41%. Average sales per surveyor also increased in May, rising to 17.
Source: http://www.rics.org
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