House prices hit a 17-month high - RICS

RICS research also reveals 45% more surveyors experienced a rise in business in March than a fall, compared with only 39% in February. Lack of housing in the UK and low unemployment figures have boosted prices, which have been left more or less unaffected by recent Bank of England interest rate rises, says RICS housing spokesman Ian Perry. "The shortage of housing in the UK is continuing to underwrite price growth. Big rises and the lacklustre performance of the stock market in recent years has also led to residential property to be perceived as the golden asset class," says Perry. ...