Property prices increasing as rising demand outstrips supply
HUGE demand for housing is outstripping any modest rise in available property, with prices continuing to rise in the UK’s weak economic climate, a housing survey said yesterday.
London and the South East are experiencing rising enquiries from new buyers, said the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) November housing survey, with 50 to 60 per cent of surveyors reporting rising prices in and around the capital.
Across the UK, 28 per cent of surveyors reported an increase in enquiries from potential purchasers, while 35 per cent agreed prices were rising, a percentage point up from October and highest since November 2006.
A RICS spokesman said: “For the fourth month in a row, the survey points towards prices rising, even though the general state of the economy would suggest that the housing market should not be faring as well as it is.
“Despite modest increases in the number of properties coming on to the market, it is clear that this is not significant enough to keep pace with the levels of demand.
“Buyer enquiries are continuing to grow… the new year could see a further wave of interest in the market.”