House prices continue to rise
Festive cheer pushed British house prices higher in the final quarter of 2005 and the good run looks set to continue well into the New Year.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house price balance rose to +8 in December from just +4 in the three months to November, the second straight rise and the best reading in 18 months.
The number of completed sales in December was also on the rise, climbing at its fastest pace in two years to 24.9 sales per surveyor, from 23 in November.
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The outlook also remains bullish with surveyors' expectations for prices at their most optimistic since April 2004, while some also said they were concerned there were not enough properties on sale to satisfy rising demand.
RICS also said the number of properties being put on the market rose in December while enquiries from prospective buyers was up for the seventh consecutive month, the longest string of increases since 1999.
