-RICS UK Sep-Nov Net House Price Balance -9 vs -7 in Aug-Oct

LONDON (MNI) – House prices and some sales indicators dipped in
November after a sharp rise in October but housing market activity is
still on the increase, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors’ survey.

The headline RICS house price balance, for the three months through
November, dipped to -9 from -7 in the three months through October, with
the latter at its highest reading since December 2009. The newly agreed
sales balance and new buyer enquiries also declined, but stayed
positive, showing activity still increasing.

Back in October, the RICS said the Bank of England’s Funding for
Lending Scheme, which appears to have driven down fixed mortgage rates,
had helped bolster housing market activity. These latest data, however,
show the pace of expansion easing.

“The Funding for Lending scheme is beginning to bear fruit for
potential buyers. However, the macro economic picture continues to weigh
heavy on the market and continues prevent any really significant boost
in activity,” Peter Bolton King, RICS Global Residential Director,
said.

The RICS downplayed the negative headline price balance, saying
“readings in this ballpark have typically been associated with a
generally stable trend in the main price indices.”

House price expectations are in similar territory to the headline
reading.

The 3-month ahead price expectations balance fell to -6 from -3 and
the 12-month price expectations balance fell to -7 from -3.

On the activity side, a raft of indicators dipped from October, but
all of them still pointed to expansion.

The November survey’s new buyer enquiries balance fell to 11 from
October’s 17, the new instructions balance dropped to 4 from 11 and the
newly agreed sales balance declined to 6 from 19.

The September through November sales-per-surveyor indicator rose to
hit its highest level since April, with average sales-per-branch nudging
up to 15.8 from 15.4.

The survey showed increased market slack, with the ratio of
sales-to-stocks easing to 22.8% from 23.3%, although RICS again
downplayed the fall, saying this indicator “has essentially been moving
sideways through much of the year.”

Other surveys of the housing sector have pointed to a general
improvement in house market activity in recent months while house price
surveys have tended to show a mild deflationary trend in terms of
year-on-year comparisons.

-London newsroom 0044 207 862 7491; email: drobinson@marketnews.com

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