UK property agents at gloomiest for 10 years in latest monthly Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors snapshot
- Latest government figures show annual house price growth across the UK had slowed to its lowest rate since July 2013
- Most downbeat responses to survey continue to come from London and the southeast
Brexit uncertainty and a lack of affordability in some areas continue to stifle the UK housing market, leaving Britain’s property agents with their gloomiest view of property values in 10 years.
The latest monthly snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) shows a further weakening of the market, with demand, prices and sales expectations all down.
The industry survey came as the latest government figures showed annual house price growth across the UK had slowed to its lowest rate since July 2013, with average prices up 2.5 per cent in the year to December, down from 2.7 per cent in November. The Office for National Statistics figures also suggested the housing market slowdown could be spreading from London and the southeast to other regions.
There was an annual price decline of 1 per cent in the north-east in December, compared with an increase of 1.7 per cent in November, while London prices fell 0.6 per cent over the year. The average UK house price was £231,000 (US$298,306.5) in December, £6,000 higher than 12 months earlier.
The Rics house prices balance, which measures the difference between the number of property agents and property surveyors anticipating increases and those expecting decreases, dropped to -22 per cent in January, the lowest level since March 2009.
The most downbeat responses to the survey continued to come from London and the southeast, followed by East Anglia and the southwest. These regions have experienced strong price growth over the past six years, which has stretched affordability, and the high prices are a key factor putting off would-be buyers, Rics said.
The agreed sales balance, a measure of the anticipated volume of transactions, worsened to -25, the lowest since October 2017, while the sales expectations balance for the next three months stands at its lowest level since the survey began in 1999, falling to -32 per cent from -28 per cent.
