Here’s a round-up of the latest news and stats from the property market

RICS UK Residential Market Survey

In the lettings market, tenant demand rose at the national level for the fourth successive month (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis). Set against this, instructions to let remain in decline, with the surveys series for landlord listings having been stuck in negative territory since October 2016. Rental projections for the year ahead point to growth of just over 2%, with this rate anticipated to accelerate, averaging around 3.5% per annum, over the next five years. In London, tenant demand has staged a sustained recovery over recent months, increasingly outstripping supply. Although rents are still anticipated to see little change in the near term, five-year expectations point to stronger rental growth coming through further ahead.

Office for National Statistics

UK house prices rose by 3.2% in the year to August 2018, down from 3.4% in the year to July 2018. Annual growth in house prices has remained broadly stable at a national level since April 2018.

House prices grew fastest in the East Midlands region increasing by 6.5% in the year to August 2018, followed by the West Midlands region which increased by 5.1% over the year. House prices in London fell by 0.2% in the year to August 2018. Annual growth in London house prices has been around zero for the last 6 months.