RICS: May Halifax house price data

Commenting on the latest survey from Halifax which shows that house prices rose by 2.6% in May Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "This is only the third monthly increase in prices over the past twenty-one months. The previous two gains were quickly reversed but this move appears to have more legs. Significantly, it is reflecting a similar trend in the Nationwide index (released last week). It is also consistent with the gentle upward move in the RICS sales to stock ratio which historically has been a good lead indicator of house price inflation.

"It is too early to say that house prices have now bottomed out. Unemployment is set to rise further in the coming months and could yet climb to the 3 million mark. In addition, support for the market could be undermined by a lack of available finance for first-time buyers. Crucially, however, a lack of new instruction to estate agents is resulting in a shortage of good quality stock in the right locations. This could continue to provide support for prices in the near term."