PERSIMMON PLC UK House Sales Drop, Rents Soar, New Survey Shows
1258 GMT - The U.K. housing market is seeing sales crumble and rents soar, suggesting the Bank of England's 14 consecutive rate hikes and the consequent surge in mortgage costs are weighing sharply on would-be buyers, Interactive Investor says, citing a new Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey. The survey shows a headline price balance of negative 53% for July--the lowest reading since April 2009, at the height of the global financial crisis--while property sales fell at the fastest rate since April 2022 and rents rose the most since 1999, Interactive's head of investment Victoria Scholar says in a research note. "The reduction in affordability of borrowing is prompting more and more would-be buyers to turn to the rental market instead with increased demand leading to a jump in rents," Scholar says. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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08-10-23 0922ET
