A growing majority of British surveyors saw house prices rise in September due to an ongoing lack of homes for sale, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported Tuesday.
The group’s monthly survey found the net balance of surveyors reporting rises rather than falls in house prices rose to +22 in September, up from +10 in August and its highest reading since May 2007. The balance is calculated by subtracting the number surveyors who report a fall in price from the number who report a rise.
The South of England, which includes London, led the upturn in prices. The net balance in London rose to +79, while the Southeast rose to +52.
“A lack of supply is still underpinning the rise in house prices with new instructions to estate agents only edging up very gradually,” said RICS spokesman Ian Perry.