09.04.202005:56:00UTC+00UK House Price Balance Declines In March: RICS

UK house price balance declined sharply in March and prices are expected to fall further as lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19 weighed on property market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said Thursday.

The house price balance fell to +11 percent from +29 percent in February. The expected level was +10 percent.

The net balance of surveyors' expecting fall in house prices came in at -82 percent in March compared to 21 percent forecasting an increase in February.

The legacy of COVID-19 could be such that any return to what might be described as 'normality' in the economy will take time, RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn said.

Surveyors urged government to introduce stamp duty holidays to support the property market.