'Agree Stormont Budget' Urges RICS

An important professional construction body has called on the NI Assembly to urgently put its 'house in order' and finalise a budget in order to slow the falling trend in local house prices.

A new Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Ulster Bank review has show prices are expected to go down again in the New Year and has called on the NI Assembly to agree a budget to help arrest the slide.

Yesterday, it was suggested that the Executive was close to agreeing a budget - possibly as early as today - with the Assembly debating the proposed financial plan on Wednesday - in spite of public disagreement between the DUP and Sinn Fein on issues, including where savings will be made and how more money might be raised.

However, the RICS said today that high unemployment and imminent budget cuts are to blame for the falling housing market, with activity continuing to slow during November, with house prices slipping further.

According to the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland registered the most negative readings for house prices, with 67% more surveyors reporting falls than rises in both areas - in counterpoint to the South West regions of the UK that continue to buck the national trend as the only region to report a positive net balance for newly agreed sales.

Nationally, RICS said that lack of demand from buyers continues to stifle the market, and new buyer enquiries fell for the sixth consecutive month.

First-time buyers are in particularly short supply, as large deposits required by lenders and availability of mortgage finance keep many from getting a foot on the property ladder.

Local RICS housing spokesman, Tom McClelland told BBC NI: "We are all well aware of the factors that have been impacting on the local housing market, including rising unemployment, the fear of public spending cuts, and uncertainty linked to events in the Republic of Ireland.

"The recent freezing weather will only have acted to further deter all but the most eager buyers for now."

He highlighted that the survey's price balance, stands at minus 67 - the lowest level since November 2008.

This figure is calculated by deducting the number of chartered surveyors who say prices have dropped in the past three months from those who say prices have increased.

However, Mr McClelland said the housing market could be helped if the Executive agreed a budget.

"Many people currently fear the worst from the budget, but indications suggest that public sector job losses might not be as significant as first thought and that there might be more money available for day-to-day spending than originally expected," he said.

Across the UK, unsold properties remained on surveyor's books for longer in November, as the average number of stocks rose to 69.5 (from 67.2).

Meanwhile, the average number of sales per surveyor decreased, with just 14.8 sales on average taking place over the last three months. As a result, the sales to stock ratio fell to its lowest level since May 2009.

Looking ahead, surveyors' expectations for house prices over the next three months remain negative, with a net balance of -41 per cent expecting prices to fall.

However, sales expectations are more upbeat, with six per cent more predicting sales to increase rather than decrease over the next three months.

"Despite some better economic data, fears over how future spending cuts will impact on the jobs market are clearly still weighing heavily on potential purchasers' minds, with many deciding to 'wait and see' until the new year.

"Meanwhile, the lack of mortgage finance continues to deter first time buyers," commented the RICS UK Spokesperson, Ian Perry.

On Monday, Stormont Finance Minister Sammy Wilson met with local banks to urge them to continue to fund development.

Together with the Institute of Directors, he discussed actions they are taking to improve access to business finance and customer relationships.

Speaking after the meeting the Minister said: "The financial crisis and subsequent recession have changed the context for business finance forever and strained the relationships between the banks, businesses and the wider public.

"We must move on from this. Our recovery is dependent on having a banking sector that meets the needs of both businesses and consumers here," he said.

See: NI Executive To Agree Budget

(BMcC/KMcA)