Buyer demand cools

According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), buyer demand for property fell for the first time in a year and half in July. Rics said that in London, which has seen annual increases of 20%, indicators such as sales queries were "going into reverse". Across the UK as a whole, Rics predicted 4.7% growth in house prices in the next year, down from 5.9% in March, while in London the forecast has dropped from 9.3% to 4.6%. The survey results came as the Bank of England downgraded its forecast for growth in mortgage approvals, saying this would be a "little less buoyant than previously thought" with a "degree of moderation" in the pace of price increases. The Bank also said that the dampening effect of tighter borrowing rules on the housing market was transitional and was wearing off. Separate figures from e.surv also showed a fall in buyer activity.