New buyer enquiries up in November

13 December 2011 | By Natalie Thomas

Some 7% more surveyors reported new buyer enquiries rose rather than fell during November - the third consecutive monthly increase for the series.

This is the first time since the spring of 2010 that the series has been in positive territory for three months in a row.

Newly agreed sales rose, with 14% more respondents reporting sales increased rather than decreased.

Alongside this, the average number of sales per surveyor climbed to 15.4 in the three months to November. Although still very subdued, this is the best level since September 2010.

When asked about the factors which they felt were holding back activity in the housing market. Most cited was uncertainty in the economy and this reason was given by 89% of respondents.

Availability of mortgage finance came in at 70%, while fear of house price falls remained steady at 42%.

The house price balance continues to be negative, with 17% more chartered surveyors reporting price declines rather increases in November - although this is an improvement from October’s reading of -24%. Significantly, close to three-fifths of surveyors indicated that prices had not changed over the month and of those reporting a fall; the vast majority indicated that it had been in the 0 to 2% range.

A spokesman for RICS, says: “It is encouraging that buyer interest has edged upwards in the face of the endless diet of negative news from Europe and the turmoil in financial markets. However, a meaningful recovery still seems some way off.

“While the proposed mortgage indemnity scheme is clearly likely to provide some assistance for the market and is to be welcomed, its focus on the new build sector will inevitably mean that it only offers support for a relatively small share of the market.”

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