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British home-buyers, facing higher interest rates, retreat in April - RICS
British property surveyors reported a drop in demand in April as new buyers turned more cautious ahead of the Bank of England's latest expected interest rate increase, an industry survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its measure of new buyer enquiries fell to a net balance of -37 in last month from -30 in March, the lowest since January. The BoE is expected to increase borrowing costs for a 12th meeting in a row on Thursday, taking Bank Rate to 4.5% from 4.25%, as it tries to keep a lid on inflation which was running at 10.1% in March. The RICS house price balance, which ... (full story)