Rics: Slow-down in house price increase

12 January 2010

Written by Simon Whittaker

Buy to let owners may have noticed a slower rate of house price rises recently, as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) released its latest figures.

It was today (January 12th) announced that there has been a narrowing in the margin between supply and demand in December 2009.

Spokesperson for the organisation Jeremy Leaf said: "New enquiries are continuing to outpace new instructions, which is helping to push house prices higher."

There was a "loss of momentum" in prices, but this may be due to the time of year - when many businesses shut over Christmas, he explained.

It is possible that interest will again rise at a faster pace in the new year, when potential buyers gain more optimism, Mr Leaf predicted.

Some 30 per cent more surveyors said there had been a rise in house prices rather than the opposite effect - a decrease on the 35 per cent who said the same in November.

Price increases were noted in areas of the UK such as London and East Anglia in particular, but less so in the North.

On December 15th 2009, Rics revealed an imbalance between supply and demand, which caused rising house costs.

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