House prices up at fastest since June 2004
Friday, March 17, 2006
LONDON (Reuters) - House prices rose at their fastest pace in almost two years in the three months to February and are likely to keep rising in the months ahead, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said on Thursday.
The RICS said its house prices balances jumped to +17 in the three months to February from +9 in January.
That was the highest since June 2004, when house price rises were in double digits, and marked the fourth straight month of increase.
The report also showed that surveyors were their most confident in 22 months that prices would keep going up, even though there was unlikely to be a repeat of last August's Bank of England interest rate cut which had helped reignite housing demand.
RICS said house prices in London rose at their sharpest pace in almost 3-1/2 years, with demand for properties so strong that some agents were able to invite prospective buyers to submit sealed bids on properties in order to attract the best price.
"Traditionally, where London goes the rest of the market follows and agents will be hoping this is the starting gun on wider, firmer housing market growth as buyers begin to compete more aggressively for the homes they want," said RICS spokesman James Scott-Lee.
The ratio of completed sales compared with the stock of available property rose to 35 percent in February from 34 percent in January -- the highest since October 2004, signalling the balance of power in the market was becoming more neutral after a year in which buyers had the upper hand, RICS said.
Meanwhile, completed sales were broadly stable at 24.8 per surveyor, while stocks of unsold property fell slightly to 71.9 from 72.4 in January.
"With available property in short supply, sellers are retaining a strong position if their pricing is realistic," RICS' Scott-Lee said.
The RICS said its house prices balances jumped to +17 in the three months to February from +9 in January.
That was the highest since June 2004, when house price rises were in double digits, and marked the fourth straight month of increase.
The report also showed that surveyors were their most confident in 22 months that prices would keep going up, even though there was unlikely to be a repeat of last August's Bank of England interest rate cut which had helped reignite housing demand.
RICS said house prices in London rose at their sharpest pace in almost 3-1/2 years, with demand for properties so strong that some agents were able to invite prospective buyers to submit sealed bids on properties in order to attract the best price.
"Traditionally, where London goes the rest of the market follows and agents will be hoping this is the starting gun on wider, firmer housing market growth as buyers begin to compete more aggressively for the homes they want," said RICS spokesman James Scott-Lee.
The ratio of completed sales compared with the stock of available property rose to 35 percent in February from 34 percent in January -- the highest since October 2004, signalling the balance of power in the market was becoming more neutral after a year in which buyers had the upper hand, RICS said.
Meanwhile, completed sales were broadly stable at 24.8 per surveyor, while stocks of unsold property fell slightly to 71.9 from 72.4 in January.
"With available property in short supply, sellers are retaining a strong position if their pricing is realistic," RICS' Scott-Lee said.
