Tight supply pushes U.K. house price balance higher: RICS
September annual same-store sales up 2.8%: British Retail Consortium
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- A growing majority of British surveyors saw house prices rise in September due to an ongoing lack of homes for sale, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported Tuesday.
The group's monthly survey found the net balance of surveyors reporting rises rather than falls in house prices rose to +22 in September, up from +10 in August and its highest reading since May 2007. The balance is calculated by subtracting the number surveyors who report a fall in price from the number who report a rise.
The South of England, which includes London, led the upturn in prices. The net balance in London rose to +79, while the Southeast rose to +52.
"A lack of supply is still underpinning the rise in house prices with new instructions to estate agents only edging up very gradually," said RICS spokesman Ian Perry.
"Meanwhile despite the problems first-time buyers are continuing to encounter in securing finance, the level of enquiries from potential purchasers is increasing. This imbalance between demand and supply suggests that house prices will move higher in the near term."
Other housing surveys have also pointed to rises in house prices amid tight supplies. British house prices have shown signs of stabilization after a sharp tumble that began in 2007 after several years of sharp price rises.
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