There was little change in South Western residential property market in April and prices continued to dip, says the latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) UK Housing Market survey.
Across the region, 21per cent more chartered surveyors reported falls rather than rises in house prices. Alongside this, expectations for future prices were still squarely in negative territory with a net balance of 17 per cent more respondents predicting further drops.
Demand from potential buyers remained in positive territory during April as ten per cent more surveyors reported increases rather than decreases in new buyer enquiries. Meanwhile new instructions, a good indicator of supply coming onto the housing market, dipped as 12 per cent more respondents reported falls rather than rises in new homes coming up for sale.
Transactions levels dipped slightly in April, as 10 per cent more respondents across the South West reported increases rather than decreases in transaction levels.
Looking ahead, while surveyors’ predictions for future prices remained negative, expectations for transaction levels once again remained positive with a net balance of 37 per cent more respondents expecting sales to rise over the coming three months.
Peter Bolton King, RICS housing spokesperson, said: “There was little change in the South West property market in April, and it is unsurprising to see that prices across much of the country are continuing to fall.
“Renewed concerns over the economy and talk of a double dip recession dominating the headlines in recent weeks may well have served to undermine consumer confidence. What’s more, the continuing lack of affordable mortgage finance is still hindering many first-time buyers who cannot afford to get a foot on the property ladder.”