RICS Report Increase

MAY 11, 2010

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly house price balance rose to +17 last month from an eight-month low of +9 in March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a steady reading.

The survey chimes with figures from the Nationwide Building Society which showed prices recovered last month after a disappointing start to the year.

"The start of spring has seen renewed optimism with the good weather improving sentiment and surveyors expecting an increase in both sales and house prices," said RICS spokesperson Jeremy Leaf.

London led the upswing in prices, with a price balance of +55, up from +32 in March. Prices rose in all regions except for Wales and Yorkshire and Humberside.

The sales expectations net balance rose to +25 from +6, while the price expectations balance moved back into positive territory, rising to +7 from -2.

The new buyer enquiries balance rose from +1 to +8, the highest reading since December while the new vendor instructions balance fell from +21 to +11.

Record low interest rates and hopes of economic recovery helped British house prices rally in the second half of 2009 after shedding as much as a fifth during 2008

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