 RICS announce outlook improving but housing market not out of the woods yet SeekER Equity Release News Update 13th August 2009: Press Release from RICS (The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) 06 August 2009 House prices look set to end the year higher than they started, but will still face significant challenges during 2010, says the RICS housing market update, released today (Thursday 6 August 2009) Following a considerable shift in sentiment in the housing market over the past few months (which has seen prices starting to pick-up in some areas), RICS no longer expects house prices to fall by 10 percent in 2009, as predicted at the start of the year. Instead, it now looks likely that the average house price in 2009 Q4 could be slightly higher than in 2008 Q4. However this does not indicate a quick return to the boom time, as activity remains very weak by historical standards. Mortgage approvals have gradually improved recently in line with the increase in new buyer enquiries, documented in RICS Housing Market Survey, and this relationship suggests that demand is strong enough to push approvals up to around 55,000 per month, where they could stay through to the end of the year. This would still leave transaction levels well below the long-run average as a significant increase in approvals is still being hampered, at least in part, by the limited availability of mortgage finance. A return to a more orderly market is still some way off. The RICS Housing market survey shows that the new instructions balance has been in negative territory for 26 consecutive months, and this lack of supply has been giving some support to house prices in recent months. In addition, while buyer demand has improved, further increases in mortgage rates, rising unemployment or prolonged weakness in the economy could all challenge the emerging recovery in the market. To Read more.... http://www.rics.org/Newsroom/Pressreleases/housing_update_pr.htm http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=191406&d=403&h=401&f=402&nl=MS_BN&dep=webops&dte=060809 http://www.mortgageintroducer.com/mortgages/235159/4/Today%27s_breaking_news/House_prices_to_end_year_higher.htm |
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