RICS reports first house price falls for a year

Surveyors have reported a fall in house prices in June for the first time in a year, with the RICS reporting much weaker data than expected in its monthly update.

The RICs said the balance of surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall in prices was -8%, the first negative score since July last year, and down from 8% in June.

The RICS said prices fell in seven of its ten regions, with prices weakest in the East and West Midlands and only London and the North West reporting rises.

More surveyors also said they were expecting price falls for the first time, with a balance of -28% expecting rises, compared to a balance of 6% last month.

However, at the same time an increasing number of homes were brought on to the market, following the abolition of Home Information Packs, with 33% more surveyors reporting more instructions than less. At the same time the number of agreed sales remained virtually unchanged.

RICS spokesperson, Ian Perry said the fall was “broadly consistent with most other recent data”. He added: “Significantly, the forward looking price expectations numbers suggest that this softer trend will continue through the second half of the year. However, agents are still generally optimistic about sales activity which should benefit from more realistic pricing of properties.”