Brickonomics

New Year stamp duty switchback will have little impact, says RICS

For those interested in what will happen when the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on December 31, the surveyors' body RICS has done a little bit of research among its members. Basically, the results seem to suggest that...

Posted by Brian on November 16, 2009 11:34 AM

Has the housing mini-boom run out of puff?

All the gauges appear to be reading "set fair" in the housing market, so why the long faces among those in the know? The latest RICS housing market survey on the face of it provides every reason to suspect that...

Posted by Brian on November 10, 2009 12:34 PM

Optimism alive and kicking in construction

The RICS construction survey for the third quarter of 2009 found confidence over increased workloads returning to the industry for the first time since 2008 Q1. This was despite an overall fall in workload across the industry as a whole...

Posted by Brian on November 6, 2009 12:04 PM

House prices on the increase, but so too are the questions marks over the housing market

The big news is that for the first time in two years more surveyors in Britain said prices rose than said they fell, according to the latest RICS housing market survey. The big question is whether this is the start...

Posted by Brian on September 14, 2009 11:54 PM

Output figures show continued fall in cash flowing into construction

At first sight the latest construction output figures provide some relief. The fall in output in the second quarter of the year estimated to be just 0.5% and there was a slight rise in the output of new work measured...

Posted by Brian on September 4, 2009 4:33 PM

RICS survey finds some breathing space before the real storm hits

The surveyors' body RICS found that public sector funding was providing some much needed relief for the construction sector. The shift in the numbers in its construction market survey was quite marked. The balance of firms seeing a decline in...

Posted by Brian on August 14, 2009 10:16 AM

Survey shows widening North-South house price divide

The latest RICS survey out today adds yet more evidence to suggest a widening north-south gap in the housing market. Prices are now rising robustly in the equity-rich, high housing-demand south, while for most of Britain house prices remain on...

Posted by Brian on August 11, 2009 9:22 AM

Forecasters call the bottom of the house price slump

The increasing stretch of stable house prices is leading forecasters to call the bottom of the slump. The Nationwide late last month tentatively said it may be time to think the unthinkable that house prices may exit 2009 higher than...

Posted by Brian on August 8, 2009 4:45 PM

RICS: Housing market remains fragile, despite recent improvement

The message from the latest update on the housing market from the surveyors' body RICS is that while the market may have found a clearing it is not out of the woods yet. There has been a torrent of better...

Posted by Brian on August 6, 2009 9:06 AM

Nationwide ponders the unthinkable: A house price rise for 2009

The latest figures from Nationwide show a rise in prices for the third month on the trot, which puts the price of an average house at 1.3% more than at the start of the year. This sign of buoyancy is...

Posted by Brian on July 30, 2009 10:52 AM

House prices likely to rise say surveyors

The shortage of homes on the market has provided surveyors with increased confidence that house prices may rise, according to the latest RICS survey. For the first time since May 2007 more surveyors polled by the RICS expect house prices...

Posted by Brian on July 14, 2009 10:24 AM

The orders figures and public spending fears point to industry chaos ahead - need it be so?

The good news is that after the monstrous distraction over the past month cause by raking over expense claims made by MPs we are getting back to debate about things that really will shape our lives - notably how much...

Posted by Brian on June 11, 2009 1:20 PM

North-South divide develops in housing market - is it a cause for concern?

The latest housing market report from the surveyors' body RICS will provide further cheer for most of those selling homes. The June 2009 report suggests that the pace of collapse in prices continues to ease, the volume of sales has...

Posted by Brian on June 9, 2009 7:39 AM

A glimpse of the future as 56% of surveyors see workload fall

Construction workload is expected to continue to collapse at a rapid pace according to the latest industry survey by the surveyors' body RICS. Surveyors experienced declines in workload across all regions and all sectors illustrating the broad spread of this...

Posted by Brian on May 27, 2009 9:18 AM

Surveyors feel a stronger pulse in the housing market

The latest survey of the housing market by the surveyors' body RICS has provided yet more evidence that the rate of decay in the housing market may be easing, with the average surveyor busier than at time since last November....

Posted by Brian on May 12, 2009 8:20 AM

Chancellor provides optimism in the gloom...and that's what's worrying

The direct measures aimed at construction-related activities and businesses in the 2009 Budget will be welcomed in some quarters, mainly among the house builders. Though I am not so sure I would go with the instant view from the surveyors'...

Posted by Brian on April 22, 2009 2:41 PM

Is the housing market out of the woods?

More encouraging news for those involved in selling houses came from the surveyors' body RICS today with the release of its latest housing market survey. The survey adds further weight to the argument that the catastrophic collapse in house prices...

Posted by Brian on April 15, 2009 11:34 AM

Homeowners turn their backs on using their homes as a bank

I was intrigued by the response from the surveyors' body RICS to the latest Bank of England figures for Housing Equity Withdrawal. The figures show a continuation in the rapid repayment of housing debt, as the graph below shows, and...

Posted by Brian on April 1, 2009 5:38 PM

Sorry to be a party pooper, but hold fire on bigging up the mortgage figures

There has been much joy in the housing sector at the news that the number and amount of home loans approved by banks grew for the third consecutive month in February, according to the British Bankers' Association. While this is...

Posted by Brian on March 24, 2009 4:06 PM

Are falling rents a prelude to a further nasty correction in house prices?

The latest survey of the rental market by the surveyors' body RICS suggests that the flood of "couldn't sell" properties into the lettings market has led to a sharp fall in rents. And the expectations are that rents will fall...

Posted by Brian on March 18, 2009 1:09 PM