House prices begin to stabilise after 22 months of falls
REAL estate professionals have delivered the most upbeat forecast on house prices since May 2010, with predictions of a stable market in the next three months.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found those questioned were evenly split between expecting prices to go up and down, leaving a net balance of zero.
The neutral outlook is a strong improvement from January, when a balance of 14 per cent of surveyors expected prices to fall and December when the figure stood at 23 per cent.
In the last three months a net balance of 13 per cent reported falling prices, though 68 per cent reported prices were unchanged and the vast majority of price falls were smaller than two per cent.
London was the only region to experience general prices rising, with a net balance of 53 per cent of surveyors witnessing rising prices, while a balance of 12 per cent reported falling prices in the south east.
The market performed worst in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland, where 47 per cent saw prices falling.