Surveyors reveal optimism for housing market
HOUSE sales across Scotland faltered last month, but the outlook for the next quarter is more positive, according to a new report.
In December, two per cent more chartered surveyors saw a fall rather than a rise in sales across Scotland, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) UK Residential Market Survey shows.
Figures for predicted sales over the next three months were slightly more positive, with a net balance of 15 per cent of respondents anticipating an increase.
The number of potential new house buyers was only marginally positive in December, with a net balance of four per cent reporting a rise.
The net balance is the proportion of respondents reporting a rise minus those reporting a fall.
New instructions to sell failed to see any pick-up, marking the eighth straight month of declining supply.
Respondents to the survey continue to highlight low stock levels as a key concern, and Rics said a lack of choice for would-be buyers is weighing heavily on the Scottish and UK-wide housing markets.
Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said: “A familiar story relating to supply continues to drive both the sales and lettings markets, impacting on activity, prices and rents.
“The latest Rics survey provides further evidence that both price and rent pressures are continuing to spread from the more highly valued to more modestly valued parts of the market, for good or ill.”
There was a continued growth in Scottish house prices in December, with 32 per cent more chartered surveyors reporting a rise rather than fall – up from 27 per cent more in November. The report said this may in part be due to the lack of supply.