Property buyers hindered by limited lending, says Rics

Posted 05/08/2009

People looking to make a property purchase still face a number of obstacles, industry analysts have stated.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), house prices in Britain are likely to be higher at the end of the year than they were in early 2009.

However, the organisation believes several factors are standing in the way of a full recovery in the housing market, such as limited access to mortgage finance.

Brigid O’Leary, senior economist at Rics, said that while the lending situation is getting better, funding is still “fairly hard to come by”.

She also warned that rising unemployment in the UK could affect property values across the country.

“The outlook for 2010 is fairly uncertain and there is a real risk that prices may slip back again,” Ms O’Leary added.

This comes after Nationwide reported that average house prices in Britain saw their third successive monthly increase in July.