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| ::House sales fall back in November - 22nd December 2009 |
| The number of homes sold in the UK dipped slightly in November, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said. Completed sales fell from 90,000 in October to 87,000 last month, only the second monthly fall this year. However November's figure was still the second highest monthly total so far in 2009 and was more than twice the number sold at the market's nadir in January. Then, just 41,000 homes were sold in the UK, but both sales and prices have since picked up. Recent figures from the Bank of England suggested that sales may keep on rising in the coming months. The Bank reported that in October the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, a good indicator of forthcoming sales, rose for the 11th month in a row. Surprise Many commentators have been taken by surprise by the revival of sales this year and the accompanying pick-up in prices. The latest property market forecast, from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said that prices would keep going up in the first half of 2010, albeit slowly, after recording a rise of 1%-2% in prices this year. "The imbalance between supply and demand will continue into the early part of the new year resulting in some further house price gains," said Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist. "However, the combination of more available property and the beginning of the exit strategy from the big stimulus programmes that have helped support the economy will gradually exert a greater influence." |
| Source of this article : |
| From: bbc.co.uk/news - 22nd December 2009 |
| Date of this item added : |
| 2009-12-23 |