8
Nov
Housing market sees signs of life, say surveyors
Activity in the UK housing market showed some signs of picking
up in October, according to the latest poll of surveyors.
Sales and new buyer inquiries edged up compared with the
previous month, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics)
said.
One theory from the industry was that sellers were becoming more
realistic about pricing homes.
However, the picture remained dark for first-time buyers'
prospects.
Sales
Economic conditions - including low wage growth, relatively high
unemployment and restricted lending from banks - would have
suggested that prices should have dropped sharply over the last
year or two.
However, various surveys have shown that prices have remained
relatively static. Nationwide Building Society recently described
house prices in the UK as "treading water".
Some surveyors have now reported that some sellers are becoming
more willing to take lower offers to secure a sale. This meant 8%
more surveyors reported a rise in newly agreed sales than those who
reported a fall.
Although low compared with the boom years in the market, this
was the highest level on this measure since April 2010.
Completed sales and new buyer enquiries rose compared with
September, the Rics survey showed.
A greater proportion of surveyors reported that prices had
fallen, rather than risen, and they expected this trend to
continue.
"It is encouraging that activity levels appear to have edged
upwards over the past month. Indeed, chartered surveyors are
generally upbeat about the near-term prospects for transactions,"
said Ian Perry, housing spokesman for Rics.
This comes the day after the Halifax said that housing market
activity had been "highly resilient" despite weakness in the UK and
global economy.
However, Mr Perry warned that the effects of the eurozone crisis
would mean any recovery in sales would be modest, and affect the
ability of UK banks to lend. This could mean that first-time buyers
will still need high deposits.
"This will inevitably leave many people who would like to own a
home unable to access the market," he said.