Surveyors see house prices up again in August
MORE chartered surveyors are reporting a rise in house prices than at any point for nearly seven years, a widely-regarded survey reveals this morning, as the market heats up.
According to August’s survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a net balance of 40 per cent of respondents are seeing house prices rise in their area, the highest proportion since late 2006.
Despite London’s dominance in the housing market generally, outside of the capital and across the rest of the UK 34 per cent more repliers saw prices rise than fall, suggesting that there is a solid increase around the country.
While the research shows a rise in supply over the month, demand is still outstripping the number of homes coming onto the market, as the highest number of sales per surveyor since the beginning of 2010 is reported.
Capital Economics’ Ed Stansfield remained sceptical: “A boost to consumer spending from this source could well prove fleeting. There is a strong risk that the Bank of England will use capital controls to choke off unwarranted rises in house prices.”