According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, in a report issued on Tuesday, British surveyors are recording astonishing drops in property values throughout the country. The numbers of these drops have not been seen since before 1990, when the housing market fell hard for a five year plus slump.
Over the three months ending in February, only 4% of surveyors have reported any housing price increases or rises. Additionally, some 57% reported falling housing prices. This is a net balance that is a negative 53%.
When these numbers are adjusted for the season, it shows a drop of minus 64.1%. This is the worst figure that has been reported by the RICS since June of 1990. In January of 2008, the drop was minus 54.8%.
As reported by Forbes, RICS spokesman Ian Perry said, "Confidence in the market is clearly having an effect on prices. A combination of a lack of available finance and weakening demand is causing a slow drop in capital values."
Additionally concerning is the stock piles of available properties, or properties that remain on the market. This number jumped by 8.5% in the month of February. This brings the average level of unsold properties per surveyor to 92, a number which has not been seen since October of 1998 when it was 93.
