The dip in the UK housing market won’t last, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
A slowdown in the housing market is only temporary, according to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
According to its latest figures from surveyors around the UK, demand from new buyers fell for the fourth consecutive month in October, except in the north of England. There were widespread price falls in London, with only south west England and Yorkshire and the Humber reporting sales increases.
The chartered surveying body reckons that the market will liven up again in the medium term, particularly once the General Election is out of the way.
It said: "With new instructions still flat at a headline level as has been the case for most of the last year it seems implausible that the dip in demand will result in very much of a decline in house prices."
However, the Centre for Economic Business Research has predicted that house prices will fall next year, which would be the first annual fall since the financial crisis.
Rise and fall
A potential increase in the Bank of England Base Rate and tighter restrictions on mortgage applications are significant factors in the slowdown of demand from buyers. Concerns about higher taxation on luxury property have played their part in reducing house prices in the capital too.
However, there has been a “post-referendum bounce” in activity in Scotland while Northern Ireland is also continuing its recovery.
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