Inquiries from new buyers fall again.

Estate agents and surveyors are yet to see the green shoots of recovery in the property market that

some of the UK’s house builders have highlighted in recent weeks.

According to the latest residential market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the vast majority of estate agents saw inquiries from new potential buyers fall again last month. It marked the ninth month that agents had reported a fall in buyer interest, with the trend seen in all parts of the UK.

That said, the longer-term outlook for transaction volumes is less gloomy than some had suspected at the end of last year. A net balance of 20 per cent of those surveyed now think that sales will be lower still in 12 months, but that compares with a reading of 42 per cent in December. Similarly, the proportion of estate agents who expect house prices to be lower in a year also retreated slightly, down to a net balance of 40 per cent versus 57 per cent in the previous survey.

Fewer people are putting their houses up for sale. A net balance of 14 per cent of respondents reported a decline in new instructions last month.

In the rental market, demand from tenants continues to rise, while the number of homes listed by landlords fell once again.

www.sba.tax

Comments

Cloud Bookkeeping

US FED rate rise.

The US Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they plan to resume increasing interest rates to control inflation in the world's biggest economy. During the June meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee reached a consensus to keep interest rates stable for the time being to evaluate whether further tightening of policy would be necessary. However, the majority of the committee anticipates that additional rate increases will be required in the future. The minutes of the meeting have recently been made public. According to the minutes, most participants believed maintaining the federal funds rate at 5 to 5.25 per cent was appropriate or acceptable, despite some individuals wanting to raise the acceleration due to slow progress in cooling inflation. Although Fed forecasts predicted a mild recession starting later in the year, policymakers faced challenges in interpreting data that showed a tight job market and only slight improvements in inflation. Additionally, officials gr...

EU business slide.

S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, a key gauge of business conditions for the manufacturing and services sector, fell 1 point to 47.1, figures showed yesterday. That is its lowest level since November 2020 and the fourth consecutive month below the crucial 50 mark separating growth from contraction. One of the few bright spots in the survey was that companies in all sectors reported a slight easing of cost pressures, price growth and supply chain constraints. However, prices charged for goods and services still rose at the sixth fastest rate since such data started in 2002. Jobs growth increased marginally from October but remained low compared with the past 18 months. Following a few months of falling price pressure in manufacturing and services, the October print shows an overall stabilisation said Jens Eisenschmidt, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. However, German businesses, at the hub of Europe’s energy crisis, reported that manu...

India- UK trade deal.

According to India's top trade official, talks with the UK regarding a trade agreement are progressing well, despite obstacles related to temporary work visas and the opening up industries like automotive and spirits. The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, explained that India is seeking transition periods or greater market access in specific sectors due to its economy, which is slightly larger than the UK's and expected to outgrow it in the coming decades. If a trade deal is reached, it would be one of the most significant agreements for Britain since leaving the EU, and it would also be necessary for India, which surpassed the UK as the fifth-largest economy last year. Goyal stated that India aims to increase its economy from $3.5tn to $35tn by 2047, the country's centenary of independence. According to officials and diplomats in India, talks about a proposed trade deal may be finished by early September, just in time for the G20 summit in New Delhi. Nigel Hu...

Search This Blog