Property: Houses for sale hit 15-year low

Property: Houses for sale hit 15-year low

The number of homes for sale dropped to its lowest level for 15 years during the autumn and early winter, a report claimed yesterday.

The fall in the number of homes available was due to strong demand and a high number of first-time buyers entering the market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Its report for the last quarter of 1997 said December was marked by a slow-down in price rises.

RICS also reported evidence of a novel east/west split in the pattern of house price growth, instead of the north/south divide. The net balance of