House buyers return to the market
The UK housing market is showing signs of life with a rise in would be buyers and London seeing its first rise in prices in 18 months.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the number of potential buyers increased for the fourth straight month while the number of actual sales is also on the increase.
RICS saw the fastest growth in inquiries by would-be buyers for two years, adding that while prices continued to fall, the rate of decline was at its slowest in 15 months.
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The report revealed that only 9% more surveyors in England, Wales and Scotland saw a fall in prices than those who reported rises, well down on the 21% seen in September.
Sales also increased slightly on the month and are now around 8% higher than the lows seen in February and just 5% below where they were a year ago.
Markedly, the report also found that in London prices increased during October for the first time in 18 months, while the rest of southern England either stabilised or showed a marginal decline.
