UK house prices rise at slowest pace in a year: RICS

reuters.com – 10/09/14
British house prices rose at the slowest pace in a year during August, according to a survey on Thursday that suggested speculation about higher interest rates has dampened buyer confidence. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ monthly house price balance fell to +40 last month, its lowest level since last August, and falling short of forecasts for +47 in a Reuters poll of economists. July was revised down slightly to +48.

Agreed sales fell for the first time since September 2012 and there was a second consecutive fall in buyer inquiries. “Some of the momentum has come out of the housing market of late reflecting in part concerns over a likely rise in the cost of borrowing at some point in the not too distant future,” said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS. Read More