The shortage of UK homes on the market is slowing the percentage rate at which house prices are falling, the average property lost just 0.1 per cent of its value during May, following a strong increase of 1.1 per cent in April; surveyors expect house prices to rise over the next quarter,  which will be the first increase for more than two years.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said:

“A low level of properties on the market, combined with increasing home buyer inquiries, was providing a platform for “modest price increases”.

All regions of the country saw a slight improvement in house moves, as the annual rate falls, except London, the North West and Northern Ireland, where prices have fallen by 23.2 per cent during the past year.

City traders are predicting house price falls of just 7% this year with the
worst of the property market downturn behind us, report The Times June 19th

Brokers are urging buyers to snap up a bargain before mortgage rates and
house prices rise. Rob Atkin of Tullett Prebon said:

“We’ve seen more house buyers are willing to bet that the Halifax index
will not fall as far as the house market was suggesting three months ago.
And with derivative prices suggesting the low point to be sometime next
year, the worst may very well be behind us.”

Housing prices will trough in December 2010 and will not recover to
today’s levels until 2016.

IHS Global Insight, City forecaster, said its prediction for a 10% fall this year looked overly pessimistic, while George Buckley, economist at Deutsche Bank, also said the pace of declines expected this year could slow.

Stephen Noakes of Lloyds said:

“I think we will see about only 10% to 12% falls this year. For the first time people are thinking house moves will increase over the next 12 months.”

There are still bargains to be had say Property Market experts

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