A lack of mortgage finance adversely affected the level of property sales in the UK across August, resulting in the housing market remaining subdued throughout the four-week period.
This is according to new figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which showed the number of sales per surveyor during the three months to August experienced a slight fall, tumbling to an average of 14.
Such a sum was similar to that recorded in June 2009, while it was also found that average stocks on surveyors’ books dipped to 67, after having stood at 70 in July.
Alan Collett, housing spokesman at Rics – which has over 100,000 qualified members – said: “For the time being, our indicators suggest that demand for homes remains broadly steady, albeit at relatively low levels, despite the renewed bout of economic gloom.”
The industry figure added uncertainty regarding the economy may result in more people being discouraged from purchasing property in the future.
