Publications
Partners
London - British house prices and retail sales rose significantly in September, according to two closely watched surveys released on Tuesday, providing cautious optimism that the economy remains on the road to recovery.
The British Retail Consortium said that sales jumped 4.9% compared with a year ago. Sales excluding new store openings were up 2.8%.
The figures were the best since January 2008, although the consortium cautioned that they were contrasted with a particularly weak September last year when sales fell 1.5% because of financial market turbulence and very wet weather.
"As we enter the important run-up to Christmas, these results give some room for optimism," said Stephen Robertson, the consortium's director general. "But consumer sentiment is volatile."
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, meanwhile, reported that a lack of supply continues to underpin the house price recovery. It said the net balance of surveyors reporting house price rises rather than falls reached a positive reading of 22 in September, the highest figure since May 2007.
The closely watched sales to stock ratio - a measure of market slack and a lead indicator of future prices - edged upwards a little further. It has now risen for nine consecutive months and stands at 29, its highest level since December 2007.
However, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors added that optimism last month that vendors were starting to return to the market has proved a little premature. A net balance of only 4% of surveyors reported that new instructions had increased in September, compared to a reading of 12% in August.
"A lack of supply is still underpinning the rise in house prices with new instructions to estate agents only edging up very gradually," Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors spokesperson Ian Perry said. "Meanwhile, despite the problems first-time buyers are continuing to encounter in securing finance, the level of inquiries from potential purchasers is increasing."
"This imbalance between demand and supply suggests that house prices will move higher in the near term," he added.
- AP
