House prices 'to keep rising over next five years', says Rics
01-22-2016
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors predicts annual increase of 4.5 per cent – and even more in London
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Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images
House prices 'to keep rising over next five years', says Rics
House prices in London and the south-east and east of England will continue to surge by five per cent a year for the next five years, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
House prices in London and the south-east and east of England will continue to surge by five per cent a year for the next five years, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
Reporting an increase in demand for housing in December that it blamed in part on investors rushing to beat the introduction of the so-called "landlord tax", the organisation's latest survey revealed there were more buyers than sellers in the market for the 11th successive month, notes the Daily Mail. It adds this is unlikely to change soon and will keep price rises brisk.
In London and the south-east and east of England - areas Rics' members already reckon are already either "expensive" or "very expensive" - this could keep price rises at five per cent a year up to 2020. There would be similar increases in the rest of the country, at 4.5 per cent, it added.
Even in areas such as Scotland, which has consistently seen far slower inflation than the fast-growth regions south of the border, valuations are likely to advance for the time being at least, the BBC says. Around a quarter more respondents forecasted prices to rise between January and March than those who predicted a fall.
At 4.5 per cent, the increases are lower than in recent years – and there is a chance that, in line with other forecasts, the actual growth rate might come in lower if the private landlord market sees the marked slowdown post-April that some are suggesting. Rics did observe a net increase in new sales instructions for the first time in a year last month.
Some fringe forecasts even claim that over-inflated prices might be thrown into reverse by the incoming changes to the sector, especially if a promised boost to house building bears fruit.