IPM Property News
Lack of Properties Pushing Prices Up
Source: www.rics.org
A lack of property on the market has driven up house prices in January for the fifteenth consecutive month, according to the latest UK Housing Market Survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
House prices rose again in January but the pace of increase eased back.
Although reduced, the pace of increases remains above the long run average of 21% as tight supply conditions have helped the market shrug off interest rate rises. The number of unsold properties on surveyors' books declined to the lowest level since August 2004.
The strongest house price growth was once again in London and the South of England, fuelled by an ever booming financial services sector. In the North and the Midlands, price rises have slowed, while housing markets in Scotland and Northern Ireland remain robust. Surveyor confidence in price outlooks are still strong as tight supply conditions continue to boost optimism.
