Property inquiries rise at their fastest pace for a decade
MORE homes are being sold as the worst of the housing slump is over, new figures show today.
And prices will start to rise as buyers and sellers return to the market, is the optimistic prediction of Britain’s surveyors.
Forty-one per cent of chartered surveyors reported a boom in new buyer inquiries last month – the highest for almost a decade.
This was up from 32 per cent in March – an increase for the sixth consecutive month.
Sales were also up last month, according to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
An average of 10.6 properties were sold by each estate agent over the past three months, up from 9.7 in the previous quarter and surveyors in most areas said they expect the trend to continue.
This is the first time that surveyors have been universally optimistic about sales since August 2006.
The upbeat forecast could mean the property downturn is bottoming out – and is even on its way to recovery.
Yesterday, the Lloyds group, which owns 30 per cent of the mortgage market including Halifax, said the market will begin to lift by the autumn.
Commercial director of mortgages at Lloyds, Stephen Noakes, said: “For the first time, people are thinking that house prices will increase over the next 12 months. We are seeing some encouraging signs, particularly if you look at the RICS figures.
“These show the number of people looking, and inquiring about property purchase is the highest since March 2003.”
Estate agents have also seen the number of buyers and sales pick up.
Lee Bramzell, of web-site PropertyIndex.com, said: “Buyers are returning to the market, not just to look, but to buy.
“Despite continuing economic uncertainty there are plenty of people out there who want and need to buy a home. This could be the golden moment for buyers, while prices remain historically low and before the cost of borrowing begins to rise.”
Both the Bank of England and Council of Mortgage Lenders have seen a rise in the number of mortgage approvals. The Bank’s base rate has been slashed to 0.5 per cent and is predicted to stay at around that figure this year.
Ray Boulger, of brokers John Charcol, said: “While we shouldn’t overlook the consequences of further redundancies and sharp rises in interest rates round the corner, there’s been a marked change of mood.”
RICS’s Jeremy Leaf said: “There are tentative signs the market is starting to pick up.”
