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TUESDAY 12TH APRIL 2005
 UK HOUSING MARKET TORPOR CONTINUES

The latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors indicate that the housing market remains in a state of torpor according to their March 2005 UK Economic Brief just released.

Surveyors reported another modest fall in house prices in February though the pace of decline eased to the slowest since last September said the report, which also contained economic data from the construction and commercial property industries.

Prospective buyers remain cautious about the market, influenced by talk of further interest rate rises in 2005.

This contrasts with speculation late last year that interest rates might have already peaked.

The number of newly agreed property sales rose modestly for a second consecutive month in February, the first back-to-back increase since last spring, but sales at the completion stage slipped again. New enquiries received from would-be purchasers were static during the month, but this differs from the falls noted in the latter half of 2004.

Against a background of tepid buyer activity, the number of sellers continued to show moderate but sustained increases.

As a result, stocks of unsold property on surveyors’ books picked-up in February to the highest level since May 2003, and are up 32% over the past year.

With choice of properties available for buyers increasing, the climate for prices is likely to remain quite subdued. The rise in the zero rate stamp duty threshold from £60,000 to £120,000 in the Budget, could spur on renewed buyer enquiries at the lower end of the market in the months ahead. However, average UK house prices are more than 50% higher than the new threshold, while the maximum benefit to buyers will be just over £1000.

The prospects for incomes, employment and interest rates are likely to be the key issues for would-be buyers rather than stamp duty relief.
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