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North East bucks the housing trend

Chartered surveyors in the North East are optimistic of an upturn in the housing market in early 2009 as new buyer enquiries rose for the first time in the North East in over a year, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Housing Market Survey published today.

Although the average number of transactions per surveyor fell slightly in November as a lack of mortgage finance continued to stifle the ability of buyers to access the market, buyer interest in the region turned positive and this, teamed with the recent Bank of England interest rate cuts, has improved both buying and selling expectations in the region.

The North East is apparently the most buoyant region in the UK with average sales per surveyor (over the last thee months) now at 14. The national average number of transactions per surveyor (over the last three months) is now at 10.6.

RICS North East housing market spokesperson and director at Rook Matthews Sayer, Richard Sayer, said: “The region’s housing market has started to take a positive turn as the number of new buyer enquiries continues to rise.

“The Bank of England’s interest rate reduction is a wholly welcomed move and I sincerely hope lenders sit up, take note and pass on the cut in full to mortgage borrowers. If they do, then this should certainly help kick-start the property market and instil confidence amongst house hunters that now really is a good time to buy.

“I expect January and February will see an uplift in activity with new instructions and sellers ever more minded towards meeting realistic asking prices which is very positive news.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .