RICS housing survey shows buyer demand in South West is on a high20th November 2012

Buyer demand rose at its fastest rate since summer 2011 last month, with purchasers across the region looking to test the pre-Christmas market, says the latest RICS housing market survey.

During October chartered surveyors in the South West reported a considerable rebound in new buyer enquiries with a net balance of 21 per cent more respondents reporting rises (from +6 per cent). It appears that the optimism shown in recent months may slowly be translating into an upturn in activity.

Alongside this, the amount of homes coming onto the region’s market also saw an improvement. Last month, 15 per cent more respondents reported rises rather than falls in vendors placing their properties on the market (up from +2 per cent).

Moving on to prices, despite demand seeing an upturn in fortunes, prices continued to dip with a net balance of 26 percent more surveyors reporting drops. The region’s price readings have now been in negative territory since June 2010.

Regionally, all areas of the UK saw improvements in levels of demand with the exception of Northern Ireland and Scotland. Significantly, the North East and the West Midlands saw the most notable rises, with surveyors in those regions reporting net balance readings of +56 and +35 per cent respectively.

Looking ahead, chartered surveyors in the region are hopeful that the current upturn in interest should translate into a greater number of sales, as a net balance of 23 per cent more respondents predicted rises in transactions over the coming three months.

Ian Perry, RICS housing spokesperson, said: “The number of potential buyers going out and viewing property saw a welcome boost last month. It seems that with Christmas around the corner, those who are in a position to buy decided to get out there and see what is available. That being said, overall activity is still very low in most parts of the country and what the market desperately needs is for this to translate into actual sales.

“Initiatives like the NewBuy scheme are all well and good but they need time to bed in and take effect, and access to affordable mortgage finance is still very difficult for many first time buyers. With the Autumn Statement around the corner, we would like to see the government continue to focus on delivering new homes and encouraging the banks to lend at affordable levels.”