January 20, 2011 | Author

Author Alec Hanson

According to RICS’s there is evidence that suggest a ‘lacklustre’ of activity in December due to the heavy snowfall.

The Housing Market Survey reported that new buyer enquires (demand) continued to fall in December and new vendor instructions (supply) declined rapidly from -4 to -14.

The headline net price balance* however had it’s second consecutive monthly increase, up from -44 to -39, i.e. 39% more surveyors saw a fall in prices rather than a rise.

However on the positive side surveyors are expecting the housing market to pick up in the spring. Jeremy Leaf, Rics spokesman states:

“Although bad weather hit the housing market during December sales levels have remained stable,”… “While lack of supply, and more importantly demand continues to impact heavily, surveyor sentiment does appear more positive for the coming months.”

Regional

Of course the headline figures are for the national average and regionally things can be different. The worst affected area was the West Midlands with a -69 net balance, followed by the East Midlands (-59) and Yorkshire and Humberside (-59).

The best performing areas where Scotland (-28) and Wales (-30).

*Balance = Proportion of surveyors reporting a rise in prices minus those reporting a fall (if 30% reported a rise and 5% reported a fall, the unadjusted balance will be 25%)

For more information visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12206936

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