Salar posted on January 17, 2012 06:25
Halifax index also shows a 0.9% decline in December 2011 and predicts a broadly stable 2012 … providing the UK can avoid the recession
The number of sellers putting their house on the market rose for the third successive month during December, but vendors may need to cut their prices to do a deal, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Its latest monthly survey, published today, suggests sellers returned in time for the new year, with London leading the way.
A 38 per cent balance of surveyors reported rising numbers of new homes on the market, the highest since January 2005. But the number of sales fell slightly to 15.2 per surveyor per week last month. Ian Perry, a Rics spokesman, said: "With sales expectations remaining flat, it is important that vendors are realistic."
The price of the average house in the UK is now just over £160,000, said the bank, thanks to a 0.9% fall in prices in December 2011 and a 1.3% drop over the whole of the year.
"The squeeze on consumers' purchasing power should ease as 2012 progresses as inflation falls back markedly, and this may help house prices to stabilize in the latter months of 2012 along with ongoing very low interest rates," he said.
"However, unemployment is likely to rise appreciably further and wage growth looks set to remain muted so the overall environment will still be very tough for households."