House price index unexpectedly improves

Published 14th Dec 2010

House prices in England and Wales fell for a fifth consecutive month in November, albeit at a slower pace than analysts had expected, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said on Tuesday.

RICS's seasonally adjusted house price balance remained deep in negative territory, rising only slightly to -44 in November from October's 18-month low of -49, though doing better than the fall to -50 forecast in a Reuters poll.

The index is still well above the levels of -80 that were common when house prices were falling fastest in 2008, and the data broadly confirms the modest falls in house prices reported by mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax in recent months.

The rise in the index was the first since May, and RICS said 43 percent of the surveyors it polled said prices were broadly stable over the past 3 months.

"There was little change in the housing market in November. Prices continued to edge lower and sales levels generally remained subdued," said RICS spokesman Ian Perry.

The prospect of hefty cuts to government spending and employment next year was putting many people off buying a house, and first-time buyers still found it hard to get a mortgage, RICS said.

The average number of sales per surveyor edged to its lowest since June 2009, down to 14.8 from 15.2.

Source: ' Reuters '

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