A winter of discontent for house buyers and sellers

Published on Tuesday 9 February 2010 09:07

THE snowy start to the year caused the property market to grind to a "virtual halt", chartered surveyors said today.

Icy weather is being blamed for a blip in house buying which had picked up towards the end of 2009 and seen a gradual climb in prices.

The number of surveyors recording a rise in January dropped for the first time since September. Just 16 per cent reported an increase, down from 25 per cent in December.

The survey by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found 82 per cent had seen prices stay the same and 1 per cent witnessed a fall.

Chris Hall of Rettie and Co in Edinburgh said January was "exceptionally quiet", with the snow hindering activity.

Registers of Scotland statistics published last week revealed the average house price increased by 1.3 per cent from October to December, bringing the national average to 155,618.

Sarah Speirs from RICS Scotland said: "The cold snap in January clearly had an impact upon both supply and demand in the housing market with activity virtually coming to a halt.

However, this was just a 'blip' and activity and interest is likely to pick up in the coming months as the market experiences a spring bounce."