UK house sales hit 30-month high

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Finance

House sales hit a 30-month high in the three months to February, according to the latest RICS housing survey.

Chartered surveyors sold an average of 16.8 homes during the period. And now eight percent more respondents predict that transaction levels will continue to rise rather than fall over the coming three months.

However, respondents reported that prices continued a flat trend, whilst six percent more claimed that prices had actually dipped.

Demand for property remained steady across the country as buyers in many parts continued to consider purchasing a new home.

RICS has speculated that the increase in mortgage finance availability from the government’s Funding for Lending scheme may be slowly encouraging would-be buyers to test the market.

The survey found that the amount of homes coming onto the market was stable last month.

A net balance of one percent more surveyors reported rises in new instructions, though the number of properties available remains at historically low levels.

Looking ahead, chartered surveyors expect prices to continue to stabilise over the coming three months as confidence gradually returns to the market.

Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, said: “It’s encouraging to see that the housing market now appears to be picking-up across most parts of the UK despite on-going concerns about the health of the economy. This may, in part, be down to the growing availability of mortgage finance through schemes such as Funding for Lending. However even with activity running at its best level since the middle of 2010, it is still well down on its pre-crisis norm.”