UK House prices look to be recovering
- 00:01:13
- ITN
UK House prices look to be recovering
Property prices rose by more than 1 per cent in April, in what is being seen as another indication the UK housing market could be stabilising. Government figures show the average cost of a home jumped by 1.1 per cent during the month, while the annual rate at which prices are falling eased to 13 per cent, down from 13.6 per cent in March. Meanwhile, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has also reported upbeat stats showing inquiries from new buyers increased in May for the seventh month in a row. The number of properties being sold by estate agents also continued to rise, to reach an average of 11.8 per agent during the three months to the end of May, up from 10.6 for the equivalent period to the end of April. Surveyors also feel increasingly optimistic about the prospects for the coming months, with 40 per cent more of them expecting sales levels to rise than expect them to fall. RICS spokesman Ian Perry said: "On the face of it, the housing market does appear to be close to bottoming out, with activity picking up in a material way and prices at last stabilising. "However it is important to remember that the lack of supply has been as important in underpinning prices as the rise in demand." The latest figures build on a run of positive information on the housing market, with both Nationwide and Halifax reporting price rises during May of 1.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively. However, economists still caution that it is too early to predict when the property market will hit the bottom, due to rising unemployment and ongoing problems in the mortgage sector. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "Despite the recent flurry of improved housing market data and surveys, we remain sceptical that house prices have bottomed out. "Significantly, it is not uncommon for there to be months of rising prices when house prices are still trending down."
ITN | June 9, 2009
