Housing market gloom deepened in February
The gloom in the housing market continued to worsen last month with price drops approaching those of the slump of the 1990s, according to data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Figures from Rics monthly market survey show that 64.1 per per cent more surveyors reported a fall in house prices rather than a rise during February. This is up from the figure of 54.7 per cent in January and is close to the record high witnessed in June 1990 when 64.5 per cent more members reported a decrease. The study also indicated that interest from buyer is dwindling with 37 per cent more surveyors reporting a fall rather than a rise, compared with 35 per cent in January. Ian Perry, spokesman at Rics, said: "Confidence in the market is clearly having an effect on prices. A combination of a lack of available finance and weakening demand is causing a slow drop in capital values."Many would-be-buyers are either struggling to raise the necessary finance to precipitate a move or are exercising caution in light of current economic uncertainty."
Share this..
Related stories
Shoplifting a serious problem for UK businesses
A report by the BBC has confirmed that upwards of £4 billion year is lost by UK retailers because of shoplifting by customers and theft by staff. This is a major problem for the UK retail industry which is struggling to make ends meet during these difficult economic times and the theft of goods to a value of £4 billion blows a major hole in the stability of the sector. The increase in crimina...
Read MoreUK financial industry hits out at EU hedge fund proposals
In what is becoming a concerted effort to grab more control of the UK financial sector it has been revealed that EU ministers are looking at increasing the regulatory and compliance burden for hedge funds operating in Europe. This is a backhanded attempt to snatch yet more power from the UK authorities as London is widely regarded as the financial capital of Europe.
Under new propos...
Life insurance shortfall revealed by Post Office
Around 75 per cent of people do not have life insurance, the Post Office said today.The organisation also released figures showing that the average Briton owns assets of £350,000 - around twice the level of the typical life insurance policy.When people who had not taken out the cover were asked why, one quarter said they could not afford it, while a further 18 per cent said that they did not thin...
Read MoreIs the Bank of England out of touch with growth forecasts for 2011?
A survey of economists and analysts in the UK has today cast doubt on the assumption that the UK economy will grow by 3.4% in 2011. The general feeling now is that the UK economy will grow by no more than 2.5% which is a significant difference to the current forecast. So how has the Bank of England got it so wrong? The current economic growth forecast in place at the Bank of England was formul...
Read MoreWelsh property market under pressure
In line with the rest of the UK, it is being reported by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors that estate agents in Wales have seen property prices soften. Apparently a flood of properties to the market is placing more pressure on the Welsh property market with 30% more members of the Royal Institute seeing property prices falling rather than increasing. Welsh property prices are now at t...
Read More