House Prices Double Up Growth 2015

House Prices Double Up Growth 2015.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revised up its forecast for property price increases in 2015 from 3% to 6%.

The number of buyers has increased each month this year yet the number of available properties has fallen. Supply and demand economics are driving house prices up, particularly outside London with some regions such as Scotland and Northern Ireland expecting between 8% and 11% growth which is driving up the national average for house prices. Regions that have been slow to recover over the last few years are now the areas where property prices are moving up to catch up.

Overall, most institutions are predicting property price growth of around 5% per annum so the RICS figures come as no surprise.

Many are expecting London to remain flat for the rest of the year but given the shortfall in new properties being built, there is an expectation of London property prices to start moving again after its lull in 2016. As ever, supply and demand drives property prices and there is a huge shortfall in available housing in the United Kingdom given that the population is set to expand by 10 million people in the next 10 to 15 years yet only 200,000 new homes will be built in the next five years. In the words of Mark Twain: "Buy land, they are not making any more".