Many people are starting to see the current housing market as an opportunity to purchase a previously unaffordable house, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The latest RICS UK housing survey shows that the house sales to stock ratio – a key indicator of future price changes – seems to be stabilising, albeit at historically low levels.
Interest from prospective purchasers also turned positive for the first time since 2006, while expectations that sales volumes would grow also remained upbeat. About 14% more chartered surveyors reported a rise than a fall in new buyer enquiries.
The west Midlands and south-west saw the biggest increases in interest, reflecting falls in asking prices and the cuts in interest rates. Demand is weakest in London.
But the average number of transactions per surveyor fell again in November to 10.6.
