11-06-2007
Property market starting to slow down
Britain's housing market has finally started to slow, an expert has claimed.
According to comments made by David Stubbs, a senior economist with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, on the latest property price figures by Communities and Local Government (CLG), the housing market is now starting to feel the effects of the interest rate increases implemented since August.
According to the CLG, the average cost of a property in the UK was £209,454 in April.
"These numbers confirm that the housing market was in rude health at the start of the second quarter," said Mr Stubbs.
"Tight supply conditions were driving prices skywards, but the hikes in interest rates since August have now started to slow the market somewhat," he added.
However, Mr Stubbs also noted that affordability levels for first-time buyers are continuing to decline.
Formerly known as the Institution of Surveyors, RICS was established in 1868 in London.
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