Fall in house prices predicted.
Members of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are predicting a drop in UK house prices that is expected to be short lived, it citied the EU referendum and the cooling of the market following changes to stamp duty charges in April for this. Beyond that they expect houseprices to rise by slightly more than 4% a year over the next five years.
RICS said its headline house price balance for changes over the previous three months fell to its lowest since February 2015 at +19 for May, down from +39 in April and below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.
Simon Rubinsohn RICS Chief Economist said “What we are looking at is a short term drop caused by the uncertainty resulting from the forthcoming EU referendum, coupled by a slow-down following the rush to get into the market ahead of the tax change on the purchase of investment properties.
“Sadly, for the many young people looking to enter the property market, it is unlikely that we are seeing the emergence of a more affordable market.”