House Price Growth continues to slow in July
Results from the RICS Residential Market Survey released today 11th August for July headlines ‘House price growth runs out of steam for now’.
The survey shows that house price growth continued to slow in the UK in July while key indicators covering price expectations, buyer enquiries, agreed sales and new instructions all remained firmly negative.
Sales and enquiries drop further, although expectations point to a more stable picture in the coming months, stock levels at record lows in most parts of the UK as new instructions decline markedly.
Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist RICS said: “The housing market is currently balancing a raft of somewhat mixed economic news alongside the latest policy measures announced by the Bank of England, which have already begun to lower cost of mortgage finance. Against this backdrop, it is not altogether surprising that near term activity measures remain relatively flat. However the rebound in the key twelve month indicators in the July survey suggest that confidence remains more resilient than might have been anticipated.
“Critically, it is hard to escape the stark message regarding supply that is evident in the latest set of results with RICS data showing inventories on agents books around historic lows on average. This is a long running story that may have been exacerbated by recent events but clearly needs urgent action from the new government”.