13
May
Rics warns against gloom
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned
against an overreaction to its latest property market survey, which
revealed that most of its members saw house prices fall last
month.
In the survey 95.1 per cent more surveyors reported a fall in
prices than a rise, the highest figures the body had ever recorded,
with this trend being unanimously reported in some regions.
However, despite this and the fact that even in Scotland the
balance of those reporting falls is now negative, the situation is
not as bad as some may believe, spokesman Ian Perry
commented.
He said: "Although most surveyors are now seeing price declines,
the extent of the fall, is at this stage, quite modest."
Mr Perry said the lower number of actual transactions was of
greater concern and was a good reason for the Bank of England to
cut interest rates again soon.
RICS also noted that a 1990s-style glut of forced sales is not
occurring.
Commenting that his own body's analysis, Peter Bolton King, chief
executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, suggested
that due to the underpinning of the market by factors such as low
unemployment the price falls would be "modest" and the longer term
would see "a return to a more steady market".
