Simon Rubinsohn
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Latest property news
Interest rate rise fears bearing down on sales market, surveyors say
The number of home buyers has dropped for the sixth month in a row helped by jitters among buyers over a potential interest rate rise, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed. Its housing market survey for September found that the number of buyers dipped noticeably over the month with 20% more surveyors noting a fall in buyers than a rise in demand, and that London’s problems are beginning to spread out from the capital. Only Wales and the South West saw more surveyors recording an increase in sales than a decrease, with the rest of the UK remaining flat – although London and the South East lead the declines. On top of this, RICS also says the number of surveyors reporting fewer agreed sales versus a rise increased by 15%, the “softest reading since last July during the aftermath of the EU Referendum”. Stock stable While buyers continue to keep away from the market, the number of homes available for sale remain stable having declined over the past 18 months. On average stocks levels on estate agents’ books are holding up at 43.3 properties per branch. Looking forward, RICS doesn’t expect the market to pick up over…
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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 says supply to England’s sales market continues to “wane”
RICS has reported an ailing sales market within its latest survey of agent sentiment, which each month is carried out among its members across UK. In an unusually forthright report, the figures for March have prompted it to use strong language to describe the UK sales market, including “stagnant” and “waning interest”. RICS reveals that new buyer enquiries and sales remained flat and stock levels hit a new record low “as the number of properties coming on to the market continues to decline”, the report says. “The key theme that really runs through the whole of this survey is the lack of supply in the market,” says Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist (picture, left) “Our key measures – average stock per surveyor – has actually hit a new low, and this explains why house prices on balance remain in modestly positive territory. For the time being it is hard to see any major impetus for change in the market, something also being reflected in the flat trend in transaction levels.” RICS says new instruction dropped during March with 13% more respondents experiencing a drop in new listings, and agents now hold 43 properties for sale on their books, on average.…
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Housing Market
Property prices set to soar
Residential property prices are set to rise sharply over the next few years, as the supply of housing coming onto the market continues to fall, according to the RICS UK Residential Market Survey for May. The report shows that despite growing demand from buyers, the stock of homes per surveyor in May dropped to the lowest level since the data series started in January 1978, pushing home prices higher in the process, and at a quicker pace than in April. 34 per cent more surveyors saw prices increase in May as the supply of homes coming on to the market fell for the fourth month in succession with 19 per cent more surveyors reporting a decline in new instructions. According to RICS, the average stock of residential property per surveyor has fallen by around 12 per cent since the start of 2015. Consequently, 38 per cent more surveyors expect to see property prices increase over the next three months, supported in part by the fact that new buyer enquiries rose at the fastest rate in over a year. RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn (left) said, “There had been some hope that the removal of political uncertainty would encourage more properties…
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