Surveys show house prices are on the down again

The latest house price figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) show that surveyors are dealing with falling house prices which last happened in July 2009.  They report that the number of properties coming to the market far outstrips the demand from buyers.  According to a survey by Rightmove this is by a ratio of 5:2.

Ian Perry a spokesman for RICS said: ‘This is a reflection of both the increase in supply following the scrapping of HIPs and the more cautious stance from buyers. Significantly, the forward looking price expectations numbers suggest that this softer trend will continue through the second half of the year.

‘However, agents are still generally optimistic about sales activity which should benefit from more realistic pricing of properties.’

In the survey by Rightmove the average asking price is £232,241 which is down £4,091 against the previous month.

“There needs to be a spur to cause prices to rise,”Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove “There needs to be a spur to cause prices to rise.”

“However, as mortgages will not become available to the masses and last year’s stock shortages show no sign of reappearing, we cannot see it happening during the remainder of 2010.”

The holiday season has been blamed for the fall in prices in some quarters, but the reality is lack of mortgages, prices that are over-inflated and cautious buyers.

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