Rics: House prices keep rising as demand jumps again

Property prices increased across the UK in January, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. On a regional level, the most significant growth was in the North West and South East of England. Enquiries from prospective buyers also reached their highest level since the height of the stamp duty holiday period in May 2021. The lack of homes coming to the market remains a problem, with more Rics members saying they saw a dip in instructions from new sellers in January. But, the Rics added: "More market appraisals were reported by a net balance of +3%, the first time it has been above zero since June 2021." The average time it takes to finalise a sale has dropped to an average of sixteen weeks, the lowest since December 2019. A growing number of estate agents think sales numbers will rise over the next three months, and the number of insiders in the sector who think this is the case has reached a 10-month high. Many also think levels will continue rising over the next year.

Daily Mail (14/02/2022)   The Independent (14/02/2022)