Outlook for the UK housing market seeing a brighter tomorrow could be taking shape, according to the latest comments regarding the housing market from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.  House prices are expected to increase by an estimated 2%.  Additionally, RICS sees rental property as remaining in high demand.  Since rental property will continue to be in high demand, landlords will be quite an enviable group.  The group will be in a position of being able to charge fees for rental property possibly as much as 4% higher than their current level. 

First time buyers will remain challenged to receive funding for property and reach the first rung of the property ladder.  Deposits for property will continue to be difficult to obtain and the lack of increases in wages overall will add to that condition.  Inflation could become more of a problem, but the base rate level is expected to stay at 0.5%.  RICS also estimates house sales numbers to reach almost 1 million compared with 1.6 million during the successful days of the year 2007.  Although the divide is sizeable between the two years in sales numbers, the 1 million homes which are expected to be sold next year would be the highest number sold in five years.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, commented on possible recovery data, saying: “These tentative signs of recovery in the sales market should not blind us to the very real problems that still exist.

“Even with the funding for lending scheme and some other government policies beginning to be felt in the mortgage market, many first-time buyers will continue to find it difficult to secure a sufficiently large loan to take an initial step on the housing market.”