-
UK RICS house price gauge falls to lowest since 2009 as interest rates rise
British house prices saw the most widespread falls since 2009 last month as interest rates hit a 15-year high, while rents surged by the most since 1999 as more landlords sold up, a survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors reporting price rises and falls, dropped to -53 in July from a downwardly revised -48 for June. This was the lowest reading since April 2009, during the depths of the global financial crisis, and below economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll for a drop to -50. ... (full story)