By Andy Bruce
LONDON: British house prices are likely to rise on average by 3 percent next year as a shortage of new homes coming to the market continues to push up prices, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Wednesday.
Britain’s property market slowed immediately after the vote in June to leave the European Union. But since then the economy has fared better than most analysts expected and there have been signs of a stabilisation in demand for housing.
“Although recent announcements by the government on housing are very welcome, the ongoing shortfall of stock across much of the sales and lettings markets is set to continue to underpin prices and rents,” said RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.
Earlier this week mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society predicted house price growth of around 2 percent against a backdrop of a weaker economy.
(Editing by Sarah Young)
Source: Reuters