Housing market remains "depressed"

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Housing market remains "depressed"

Tue 10th Jun 2008

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) house price balance improved slightly in May, but still remained depressed with 92.9 per cent more of its members reporting a fall than a rise in house prices.

That is a decrease from 94.7 per cent in April, but some areas continue to fare worse than others. In the south-east and East Anglia, for example, chartered surveyors were unanimous in saying house prices are falling.

Transactions are now at their lowest level since 1978, at 17.4 per surveyor over the last three months.

New buyer enquiries are also down, with 51 per cent of surveyors reporting a fall, although that is also improved from a 69 per cent drop in April.

Commenting on the data, Rics spokesperson Jeremy Leaf warned: "While demand remains weak and housing transactions continue to evaporate, there is a very real danger to the wider economy."

Nationwide recently reported that house prices fell by 2.5 per cent in May, taking the average property price in the UK to £173,583.

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