Rightmove’s latest house price survey – which of course is produced from estate agent data – shows the average asking price for property is up by 1.2%. Of course there are still pockets around the country where prices are down, with prices in the south tending to mask those of the rest of the country.
The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts prices falling by 5% in 2008. Whilst this may not sound like good news, it is a great deal better than the predictions of 30% drops that we’ve had from some quarters!
However it did say it believed that property sales may falll by 40% during 2008, which is bad news for anyone hoping to sell this year, as well as the wider economy.
Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: "This could have important ramifications for the wider economy, not only hitting the property industry directly, but also impacting on a broad range of related sectors whether that is the high street purveyors of home furnishings and white goods or financial intermediaries involved in providing mortgage advise."
