UK house price growth will slow to 3% in 2017, say surveyors
Does this mean rural housing will get relatively more affordable, or will it be harder to raise the money to get a first foot on the rural housing ladder?
UK house price growth will slow in 2017 but the legacy of insufficient housebuilding will mean that demand will outstrip supply and lead to a 3% rise over the year, surveyors have predicted.
Although the most bullish housing market forecast for the new year released so far, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said it expected growth to be about half that in 2016. A year ago, it predicted price rises of 6% and official figures are on track to meet that, with October’s annual growth rate at 6.9%.
Rics said it expected supply issues to continue to drive prices upwards over the next 12 months. “Following on from the 2016 forecast, the supply pipeline or lack of it is at the forefront of the analysis and dominates the residential market,” it said. “While there is an improvement, the legacy of building on an insufficient scale has left the average inventory on estate agents’ books close to a historic low.”
Since June’s referendum, Rics members around the UK have reported a fall in the number of homes coming on to the market, while would-be buyers have continued to register their interest. This has been backed up by figures from mortgage lenders, which showed a 20% fall in the number of loans to home movers in October.
Rics said the number of sales was set to fall slightly from 2016’s figure, from about 1.25m to between 1.15m and 1.2m, reflecting a downwards trend over recent months.