More reports of house price falls

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The proportion of chartered surveyors who claim prices are falling hit a new high during the month, with 78.5% more surveyors saying the value of property had dropped, than those who reported a rise, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The figure is considerably higher than the 65.7% more surveyors who reported price falls in February, which itself surpassed the historic high set in June 1990 to be the worst figure since the survey began in 1978.

The proportion of surveyors reporting price falls has been rising for the past eight months as the credit crunch continues to take its toll on the market.

The group said the regional picture was "even more depressed", with 89% more surveyors reporting price falls in the East Midlands than those who said there were rises, while a net balance of 86% said property prices were going down in East Anglia.

Surveyors reported that prices fell at a faster pace than during the previous month in all regions of England and Wales, except for Yorkshire and Humberside.

Scotland remains the only area of the UK that is still seeing house price rises, with just 4% more surveyors saying values are still going up there than those who think they are falling, compared with 10% more in February. But the group stressed that a shortage of homes being put up for sale should prevent a 1990s-style house price crash.

Unsurprisingly, potential buyers are staying away from the market until the outlook becomes clearer, while others are struggling to get the mortgage they need to move.

The number of new buyer enquiries fell for the 16th month in a row during the month and at its fastest pace since March 2003, with 49% more surveyors reporting a fall than those who saw a rise.

RICS said the fact that recent interest rate cuts were not being passed on to new borrowers suggested demand was unlikely to improve soon. But it added that surveyors had also seen a fall in the number of homes coming on to the market as historically high employment levels meant very few people were forced to sell.