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House prices will leap 8% in 2014 – RICS
Brits will see house prices shoot up by 8% in 2014 thanks to demand for homes in all regions of the UK, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has predicted.
The surveyors’ body expects house prices in London to continue rising the fastest, at 11%, but predicts similar growth in East England and the East Midlands. Only in the North East and Northern Ireland does it forecast growth of less than 7%.
RICS global residential director Peter Bolton King said the rise in house prices reflected the fact there are more buyers than homes on the market: “While the number of new homes being built is now on the rise, it still won’t be anywhere near enough to meet demand.
“We expect the problem of insufficient housing stock to be the main driver behind price increases over the next twelve months.”
The number of transactions is expected to rise from 1.05m in 2013 to 1.2m. RICS also forecasts that starts on new-build homes will jump by a fifth in England, to roughly 155,000.
RICS also expects rents to rise, but at the slower pace of 2%.