Estate agents have reported new buyers are moving back into the housing market as the number of properties coming up for sales has stopped growing, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The professional body found that only a small majority of agents surveyed last month expected house prices to fall over the following three months compared with a large number who were previously pessimistic.
RICS reports today that 34% of agents reported a drop in prices over the previous three moths with only 7% reporting a rise on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
This gave a net balance of minus 27 or minus 26 when seasonally adjusted. This was the least pessimistic figure for 12 months.
References: Financial Times 20/09/05 page 6, The Times 20/09/05 page 44, The Independent 20/09/05 page 64
