Autumn bounce for housing market falls flat

A hoped-for autumn bounce in the housing market has failed to materialise, RICS members have reported. The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that the vast majority of estate agents reported another fall in enquiries from new buyers last month. Enquiries were down in almost every region of the UK except for the northwest of England, where there was a modest improvement compared with August. A greater proportion of members, a net 69% of those surveyed, reported a drop in prices last month than at any time since February 2009. A net 39% of respondents in its survey said they agreed fewer sales in September than in August. Over the next three months, most members expect the number of agreed sales to keep on falling. The Times (£)The FT (£)