RICS Surveyors Report House Price Increases

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported today that a growing number of its surveyors marked an increase in UK house prices caused by decreasing supply of marketed properties in September.
RICS carries out house price surveys monthly, which allows to clearly see the month-to-month changes. As such, the number of surveyors reporting house prices increases rather than falls grew to 22% in September, which compares to merely 10% in August. The figure is also the highest since May 2007.
According to the RICS house price report, London and the South of England are the two regions where the increases are most evident. The net balance of properties in London reached +79, while in South England it increased to +52.
Mr. Ian Perry, spokesman for RICS, said that the major reason for increases in UK house prices is still lack of supply and strict instructions to estate agents rather than improved economic conditions.
He, however, noted that more and more potential house buyers, including first-time buyers, find it easier to secure a mortgage, which fact will inevitably result in higher house prices in the next months.
RICS is not the only organisation the survey of which highlighted low supply as the major reason of growing UK house prices. Other surveys carried out by British firms also suggest that house prices have finally started to stabilise from their sharp decline in 2007.
As for commercial property sales, they also see increases in September 2009. According to the British Retail Consortium, sales of spaces at stores, which have been open for 1 year or more, grew by 2.8% last month compared to last year’s level. Total September 2009 sales grew by 4.9%, whereas in September 2008 they only increased by 1%.
Interestingly, sales of food saw the slowest growth, whereas sales of furniture and home supplies grew much faster, which fact is explained by improved consumer confidence in the UK housing market, BRC experts note.