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House price rise fastest for two years

Thu, 15 Jun 2006
House prices in the UK accelerated in May, at its fastest pace in two years, an industry body said.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or RICS said house prices balance moved up to 20 for the three months to May from 15 in the three-months to April.

In London, the gains were considerably strong and the balance surged to 54 from 40 earlier.

RICS said that 18 per cent more members had also reported a growth in new instructions to sell, although this continued to be outstripped by buyers' enquiries with 22 per cent more chartered surveyors reporting a rise, the highest since last October.

Scotland, London and Northern Ireland showed the sharpest price gains, while elsewhere there were modest increases.

Jeremy Leaf, RICS spokesman, said, "The strength of the housing market suggests consumer confidence in the UK economy . Buyers are trading up the housing ladder and have blown dust from their wallets, as interest rates remain stable. Price rises for family homes continue to outpace flats for a third consecutive month.

"However, the upturn in the number of sellers will keep a lid on house price rises going into the second half of 2006. The cost of HIPs and new HMO legislation may encourage more people to sell before June 2007, while the fear of interest rate hikes and a volatile equities market is likely to have a cooling effect later in the year."
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