House prices boosted by rush in buy-to-let

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have reported that numbers of house purchases have been unseasonably high in recent months.
This is thought to be caused by large numbers of buy-to-let investors seeking to buy before the government’s proposed changes to stamp duty in April.
RICS said that from its monthly surveys of residential property agents, expectations of further price increases were nearly at a two-year high, with 50% more surveyors seeing price rises than falls.
Prices are rising due to a shortage of supply compared to demand, especially in cities, with homes in Cambridge, London and Bristol showing the highest annual growth in average prices.
In December 2015, 43% more RICS surveyors said they expected further price increases in the next three months compared to those that predicted falls.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist for RICS, commented: "Potential buy-to-let investors are looking to pick up properties before the increased stamp duty levy comes into force in April. If that is the case, we can expect to see the housing market heating up further over the next few months."

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