Although the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee brought a small burst of activity in the retail sector, house prices continue to fall. This appears to be indicative of the fact that the UK is still deeply mired in the double dip recession which many forecast to ongoing for at least this year.
According to RICS, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, fewer homes are being put on the market and, in fact, the housing market remains fragile. Since there is still a great deal of consternation over the debt crisis in the EU, the market will probably continue to be sluggish. As well, since the stamp duty holiday ended a few months back fewer people have been looking for homes.
The chief economist for RICS has been quoted as saying that the market didn’t turn around in the previous month and activity has remained slow. Approximately 66% of the surveyors stated that prices are not picking up and about one-fifth of surveyors reported that prices are actually dropping instead of rising.
Surveyors are also not optimistic for the coming year. During the month of May, 8pc of surveyors questioned felt that there would be a drop in prices over the next year but when questioned in June, 19pc responded that prices will continue to fall.
At the moment it is hoped that something will be done for first-time buyers to make purchasing a home easier to accomplish. Until the economy picks up again, it will probably take some form of incentive to boost sales of homes.
The news isn’t totally bad however as retail sales have picked up a bit due to the Jubilee and with the upcoming Olympic Games. The next few months should also see a wider profit margin as well. Even so, this rise in retail will most likely not be enough to lift the UK out of recession.
