Surveyors Detect Further Property Slowdown

Fewer and fewer people are taking out mortgage loans, new figures have indicated.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said today that there were just over 15 transactions per surveyor conducted from April to June - the lowest level of people moving house found since the body began its survey in 1978. The low level of activity signifies that the credit crunch-induced property slowdown is ongoing, and that the mortgage market is likely to shrink further in months to come.

Rics' survey had more positive news regarding house prices, however: the number of surveyors who said that they had fallen in June was lower than May, with the total going from 92 percent to 88 percent. In the West Midlands, however, 100 per cent of poll respondents reported house price falls.

Jeremy Leaf at Rics also suggested that he remained upbeat on the property sector's long-term prospects. "With demand so low, would-be buyers are negotiating from a position of strength," he commented. "Even in a weak market there are always opportunities for investors and buyers to profit and some are starting to circle for bargains."

According to the most recent house price surveys from Nationwide and Halifax, the average home in the UK costs around six per cent less than it did one year ago.