The housing market remains buoyant across many regions outside the South East of England, but London continues to slow.
UK house prices rose marginally in August, but the number of transactions fell as a shortage of homes on the market pushed property values higher.
Across the UK as a whole, there were 6% more estate agents reporting that property prices rose during the three months to August compared with a month earlier, but the national figure hides major regional disparities, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey of its members.
Agents in Northern Ireland reported the most widespread price increases over the past three months. A balance of 51% of survey respondents reported an increase rather than a decline in home prices during the three months to August.
But while prices are up in Northern Ireland, as well as other parts of the country, most notably in the North West of England, prices have declined across many parts of London and the South East. This is owed in part to high stamp duty costs and affordability constraints, which is unsurprising given that property prices have grown faster than earnings across the country over the past decade, with the contrast starkest in London and the South East.
The ratio of the average property price to average earnings for those living in the capital has risen from 7.8 in 2009 to 12.9 last year.
So it is perhaps unsurprising that the balance of respondents in London who reported falling rather rising home prices last month was the weakest result since February 2009.
Over the past three months, more agents in the South East have also reported a drop rather than a rise in property prices across the region.
Ultimately, the latest figures from RICS show that despite ongoing economic and political instability, the market continues to steadily grow. But the housing shortage and lack of affordable homes must be addressed, in order to help more people get a foot on the housing ladder.