Housing supply continuing to dwindle, warns RICS

Housing supply is continuing to dwindle and a slow start to next year is expected due to lack of stock, the RICS said this morning.

November was the ninth consecutive month without an increase in new instructions.

The number of prospective buyers in the UK housing market rose in November for the third consecutive month, but the figure remained historically low.

Only 13% more surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries rather than a fall.

The RICS expects house prices to continue rising across the UK, with the slowest growth in London.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “A key issue for the housing market is the slowdown in transaction activity since the spring which is clearly being reflected in the RICS agreed sales data as well as in official figures.

“Although there are some signs that the numbers may begin to edge upwards in the New Year, the combination of macro uncertainty, the ongoing supply shortfall, with stock levels around historic lows, and the myriad of tax changes impacting on buyers, suggest that any pick-up in activity will be relatively modest.

“This is significant not just for the housing market itself but also for the wider economy, given how much of consumer spending is tied in with home purchases.”

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2 Comments

  1. 123430

    If you drive from the far east of London to the far west, almost on every corner there’s a development of 1000s and 1000s of properties. it is not a lack of them, it’s an oversupply of unaffordable properties that is the problem. Who can or wants to buy a small studio for 800k when you can buy a house in the same area for less.

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    1. Will

      The idiots that buy them!  If they are not being sold (probably to overseas investors) they would cease to exist as developers know where their markets are or go broke!

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