Number of homes on the market falls to a new low with housing market ‘stifled’ by uncertainty, says Rics – Telegraph.co.uk

Homeowners and investors hunting for any indication that the housing market has bottomed out didn’t get it Tuesday, as the latest home sales data from a real estate trade group moved that sign further down the road to recovery. The National Association of Realtors said pending U.S. home sales fell in February to the lowest reading since the index began in 2001. The trade group’s seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell to 84.6 from January’s upwardly revised reading of 86.2. A year earlier, the index stood at 107.6.

Key Takeaways:

  • This dulling effect on the market has been caused by the uncertain political situation, according to 44pc of those polled, compared to the 27pc who said that Brexit was the most important factor.
  • Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said he was surprised there was not more impact from the snap general election on people’s assessments of the property market.
  • Rics indicators particularly regarding the price trend are pointing towards an increasingly divergent picture.

“Respondents to the Rics survey highlighted that prices of property in London have continued to fall, particularly in the most expensive areas.”

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/house-prices/number-homes-market-falls-new-low-housing-market-stifled-uncertainty/