Figures show blots on the landscape for house prices

Published 12th Jan 2010

House prices fell in the North and the West Midlands in December as market activity dampened, exposing those regions where the recovery has been weakest.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), last month’s figures showed 5 per cent more surveyors in the West Midlands reporting prices falling rather than rising, and 7 per cent more in the North. The industry body added the East Midlands and Northern Ireland to its list of areas at risk of further immediate falls.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said: “These regions have been among the weakest for months. The best we can say is that they have stabilised lately.”

The overall proportion of surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall in prices remained positive but slipped slightly, from 35 per cent to 30 per cent, and was below analysts’ forecasts of 36 per cent.

Estate agents continued to report rising prices in every other UK region in December, with those in London, Scotland and the South East enjoying the most growth. House prices have been so resilient in the capital that London Central Property, an investment fund, said yesterday that they will return to pre-credit crunch levels by the end of 2010.

Further evidence that prices may falter this year came as RICS’ sales-to- unsold-stock ratio, which indicates the future direction of the market, fell slightly to 30.5 per cent. However, RICS said that 13 per cent more surveyors believed that prices would rise instead of fall in the next three months.

The amount of new property coming on to the market increased for the seventh month in a row as homeowners were tempted into selling their homes by the recent price increases. The percentage of surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall in the number of properties going up for sale was 17, the same as in November and the highest reading since May 2007.

Source: ' Times '

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