House price growth slowdown in September only temporary , RICS says
The growth in house prices in Britain slowed down in September but that was unlikely to last, data released overnight on Thursday showed.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its monthly house price balance declined from a 12-month high of +53 in August to +44 in September and well short of the +55 reading analysts expected.
However, new buyer enquiries increased for a sixth consecutive month, while the number of sales agreed advanced at the quickest pace since May 2014, boosted by a strong performance in Scotland and in northern and eastern England.
As other surveyors highlighted over the last quarter, the increase in sales did not translate into a bigger number of properties coming to the market, with the number of new instructions declining in 13 of the last 14 months, RICS said.
"Unless the stock being sold is replenished there is a limit to how sustainable this modest improvement in market turnover will prove to be," Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said.
"As a result of the persistent supply demand imbalance, the national house price indicator continues to rise strongly which is likely to be reflected in key house price indices over coming months and into the first half of 2016," the trade body said in a statement.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Wednesday, David Cameron pledged to encourage developers to build more affordable houses.
The plan was welcomed by Rubinsohn, although he warned the government should consider implementing measures to ease the burden on the rental sector.