More Britons looking to make property purchase: Rics

Posted 08/06/2009

The housing market in the UK is being boosted by increased buyer enquiries and sales, a new report has revealed.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), a growing number of people in Britain are looking to make a property purchase.

Indeed, almost half of its members reported an increase in the number of enquiries from new buyers in May compared with the previous month.

Many also said they had seen a slight increase in sales during this period.

Commenting on the findings, Ian Perry of Rics said that it does appear as if the housing market is starting to pick up and stabilise.

However, he added that there are still a number of “significant obstacles” that could affect the sector over the coming months.

“With the economic backdrop still quite uncertain, unemployment is set to continue increasing sharply and finance for first-time buyers is still in short supply,” Mr Perry stated.

The improvement in buyer activity was reflected this week in Halifax’s latest house price index, which showed that average property values in the UK saw a month-on-month increase of 2.6 per cent during May.