Scarcity of homes for sale in the United Kingdom keeps prices elevated, RICS

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The number of people putting their homes on the market in the United Kingdom declined for the eighth month in a row in November, putting further upward pressure on property prices, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

After an upward revision to October’s figure, RICS said its monthly home price balance remained at +71 in November, not far from the 33- year peak of +82 set in June.

“The continuing drought in new listings was a significant factor holding back the market nationwide,” RICS said. “Unless this trend is reversed soon, transaction levels may flat line in 2022 with limited choice proving more significant than any shift in the interest rate environment for new buyers,” RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn added.

Due to the novel Omicron coronavirus type, the Bank of England has said it is likely to raise interest rates from a record-low 0.1 percent in the coming months, though financial markets have lowered their expectations on a move at next week’s meeting.

More demand for room to work from home during the pandemic, as well as temporary tax advantages for homebuyers that were taken out between July and September, boosted Britain’s property market throughout most of last year and into 2021.

According to the most current official data, house prices increased by 11.8 percent in the year to September, with surveyors expecting prices to “drift higher” during the next 12 months, according to RICS.

Story by : Norvisi Mawunyegah