RICS national housing spokesman, Ian Perry, says, "Fears of recession have been present for some time but continued employment growth, falling mortgage rates and firm wage rises have all helped sustain the housing market.'

Demand for property is still outstripping supply, which alleviates fears of a slump in the residential sector like that seen during the early 1990s when a flood of property hit the market far outweighing demand. High interest rates on money advanced on a glut of homes soon saw the property market spiral into a recesion it took over six years to emerge from.

Chartered surveyors are becoming encreasingly concerned about the prospects for the housing market later this year as economic conditions weaken. Only 3% of RICS members expect sales to rise by the end of 2001.

Perry notes, 'There are concerns that signs of a downturn are already appearing, with a falloff apparent in new enquiries and undoubtedly this will have the effect of cooling prices. But market conditions are markedly different to those of a few years ago and we do not foresee the housing market enetring a "boom-and-bust cycle."'

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Multifamily