House price falls now widespread, say surveyors
House prices are now falling in four areas of the country, according to the latest report from chartered surveyors.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said that prices are declining in London, the South East, East Anglia and north-east England.
However, other parts of the UK are seeing an improvement in activity.
Scotland, Wales, north-west England and Northern Ireland have continued to see rising prices, according to RICS.
At the same time the UK’s largest estate agent reported a 7% fall in revenues in the three months to the end of September.
Shares in Countrywide fell by 6%.
The RICS report on the housing market is gloomy overall, citing fewer buyers and sellers, as well as falling sales.
- House prices ‘continuing to rise’
Across the country as a whole, it said prices were flat, with just 1% more surveyors reporting rises in October than those reporting falls.
The survey appears to contrast with data from the Halifax, which said earlier this week that house price growth had risen to 4.5% in the year to October.
Click here to read more (Source: BBC News)