Confidence in UK property hits 30-year low

Posted 2008-04-14

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has recorded a historical low in confidence in the UK housing market.

The latest report has shown confidence drop in March to a 30-year low, with 78.5 per cent surveyors reporting a fall in house prices rather than a rise last month.

This is the lowest measure of sentiment since records began in 1978, which Rics believes is a result of the difficulty of acquiring a mortgage last month.

Jeremy Leaf, Rics spokesman, said: "Sentiment is at a very low ebb and will continue to remain depressed while the economy suffers from this unique liquidity blight.

"The slowdown in prices is directly attributable to a lack of available finance which has hit demand. However, until new supply increases dramatically a significant crash remains unlikely."

He added that the next six months would be a "crucial period for homeowners", but that would-be buyers with larger deposits might see this market "as an opportunity to acquire property in areas to which they could not previously aspire as recently as the end of 2007".

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