royal institute of chartered surveyors
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Latest property news
Brexit bearing down hard on housing market, says RICS
In November the number of new sales listings coming on to the market fell at the fastest pace in over two years while the average estate agent stock level remains at a record low of 42 properties, says the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Brexit uncertainty and a lack of supply in the market are the main reasons for the current problems being experienced by its members, although among comments submitted by agents alongside the report, 70 out of 135 of them highlight Brexit-related problems. “I can’t recall a previous survey when a single issue has been highlighted by quite so many contributors,” says Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist at RICS (pictured, above). His survey features few nuggets of hope for the industry, revealing an overall weaker trend in the sales market both for supply and demand when compared to last month. Weakening sales It also expects the sales market to weaken in the coming three months, although it says prices are continuing to rise and a more stable market is expected later this year. Nevertheless new buyer enquiries weakened last month, as did new instructions, while the time it takes to sell a property stands at 19 weeks, the…
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Latest property news
Burnham-on-Sea cartel agent is expelled from RICS
A Burnham-on-Sea agent and partner in Greenslade Taylor Hunt has been expelled from RICS after helping organise a fee fixing cartel in the Dorset seaside town.
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Latest property news
Government’s first time buyer Stamp Duty give-away has failed in South, claim surveyors
The government’s attempt to kick-start the first-time buyer market by removing Stamp Duty and Land Tax (SDLT) for all but the wealthiest has proved a damp squib in London and the South, surveyors have claimed. In last November’s Budget Chancellor Phillip Hammond eliminated SDLT for 80% of first time buyers, and cut the duty for 95% of those who pay it. But the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says in its latest property market snapshot that new buyers’ enquiries fell for the eleventh month in succession. “This would appear to suggest that the government’s attempt to breathe fresh life into the market through eliminating the stamp duty charge for most first-time buyers in the Budget is not having a significant impact on overall demand,” says RICS’ Residential Market Survey for February. Affordability is the key to demand among first time buyers, the figures show. The SDLT stimulus appears only to be working in the north of the UK where house prices are more affordable; the number of enquiries to agents from first-steppers increased in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, Humberside and the North, but stalled elsewhere. RICS also says the number of properties available to sell has continued to drop.…
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Latest property news
Political uncertainty continues to subdue sales, says RICS
The flat sales market is set to continue as the number of properties for sale per branch hits a new low, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). According to its latest UK market report agreed sales, new buyer enquiries and new instructions have all dipped as domestic political uncertainty continues to impact the market. Some 44% of RICS members who were surveyed said this was the reason for the lack of activity in the market, while 27% said Brexit was the most important contributing factor. But London’s much more subdued market than the rest of the UK is blamed in equal measure on both Brexit and the recent Stamp Duty changes by the capital’s agents, RICS says. “Perhaps not surprisingly in the current environment, the term ‘uncertainty’ is featuring more heavily in the feedback we are receiving from professionals working in the sector,” says Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist at RICS (pictured, left). “This seems to be exerting itself on transaction levels which are flatlining and may continue to do so for a while particularly given ongoing challenge presented by the low level of stock on the market. Looking ahead across the UK over the medium-term, agent confidence about…
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Latest property news
RICS property market survey reveals weak January
The sales market remained quiet with both enquiries and transactions little changed at the start of year during what is usually a busy period, while the rental market faces a lack of supply as landlords exit the market, says the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) property market survey. Only five percent of its members reported an increase in demand for properties for sale, which is the weakest since last August, and the supply of fresh properties to the market reduced, RICS says. Supply has been weakening over the past consecutive 11 months now and many of RICS’ agent members’ stocks are reaching historic lows. Despite the worrying news, RICS says its agent members’ outlook was growing more positive about a bounce back as the year progresses, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. RICS also says prices have been rising across the UK except in London, where they have been in ‘negative territory’ now for nearly a year. In the rental market, the government’s unremittingly hostile measures are taking their toll and RICS says the flow of new landlord instructions ‘failed to improve’ for a fourth consecutive quarter. RICS also says the imbalance between lowering supply and increasing demand for…
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