UK Property Market shows small signs of recovery according to Institute of Surveyors
RICS, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, is UK’s leading independent organisation prepares and publishes studies and reports on a regular basis covering the UK property market. Recently the property market in UK has started to show signs of improvements. 3 of the last 5 months have shown an increase in property sales and property prices in UK.
Although increases are small and may take a long-time before a full recovery often market happens, consumer behaviour has seen a positive impact as a direct result of the improvements indicated by various studies over the last few months. Consumer expectations are high with regards to further increase in property prices in the coming months. This is the first time in the last two years that consumer expectations are high in UK’s property market. Property analysts and estate agents expect further rises in the near future. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has recently conducted a survey of the property industry in UK where these findings were presented. According to the report there was an increased activity in the UK property market in the previous month. The number of properties in the market is still on the lower side however there is an increased interest from home buyers. Estate agents and property analysts are optimistic about the property market fr the first time in many months.
According to the property market report, the demand for properties has increased as there was an increase in the number of enquiries made by prospective buyers. According to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, there was a 67% increase i n enquiries in June. The pattern of growth in enquiries has continued now for a few months consecutively rather than falling. The report shows that the increase in number of enquiries is now translating into increased sales. The number of properties sold increased in June. The figures are still quite dismal compared with property sales figures two years ago.
The average number of properties sold over the past three months rose to 12.7, up from 11.7. Meanwhile, newly agreed sales, measured on a net balance basis, increased sharply, reaching their highest level since August 1999. According to [property analysts, in spite of the improving signs in the property market, it is not likely to result in a sustained growth mainly because mortgage lenders are still wary of approvals due to risks involved. The supply is still at low levels.