House-seller numbers 'outweighing buyers'

[dutchman]

The number of people trying to sell their homes has hit its highest level since May 2007, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

Rics said new instructions from sellers in March outstripped enquiries from would-be buyers for the third month in a row.

Price increases were still more common than price falls last month across the UK, Rics said.

But the surveyors' body said prices would stabilise in the next few months

"With the general election approaching and uncertainty growing over the political direction of the country, many vendors who were previously inclined to sit on the sidelines now appear eager to put their properties on the market," said Rics spokesperson Ian Perry.

"However, with stocks increasing and sales decreasing we may see some modest price falls in some regions although London, the South East and Scotland are continuing to perform well," he added.

Sales

The latest monthly Rics survey indicated that prices during March had dropped in East Anglia, Yorkshire & Humberside, the north of England, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland, but had continued to rise strongly in London, the South East and Scotland.

An apparent shortage of properties for sale has been cited by most commentators as the main reason for the surprising rise in house prices, which started in spring 2009.

Although the precise scale of the rebound is disputed, with different figures being generated by different surveys, there is little doubt that the recent trend has been upwards.

Despite prices falling in February - a dip widely attributed to the effects of the very cold winter, and a hiatus in the market caused by the reintroduction at the start of the year of the old stamp duty threshold of £125,000 - they picked up again in March, according to surveys from leading lenders.

But while the Halifax says prices are now 5.2% higher than a year ago, its rival the Nationwide puts the annual increase at 9%.

Meanwhile the Land Registry for England & Wales currently puts the annual rate of house price inflation at 7%.

Reflecting the low level of completed sales since the start of the year, Rics said the average number of sales per surveyor had dropped from 18 in the previous three months to 17, but predicted that the market would pick up.

"Activity is expected to rise over the coming months, but at a more subdued pace, meanwhile, prices are expected to more or less stabilise over the coming months," Rics said.