RICS survey fuels hopes of green shoots in housing market

The survey showed new buyer enquiries rose in July for the nineth month in a row, with evidence that the rebound in enquiries is feeding through into increased transactions. Newly agreed sales reached the highest level since August 1999. Surveyors sold an average of 15 properties each in the past three months, compared with 13 during the three months from April to June. Of the surveyors interviewed, 8% more saw house price falls over the month than those that saw price rises. But the falls appear to be concentrated in the North, with surveyors in London and the South East report...