Investing.com – House prices in Britain rose at their slowest pace since August, an industry group said on Tuesday, defying rosier forecasts.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly house price balance dropped to 17% in February from a downwardly revised 31% in January. Economists had expected the tally to increase to 36%.
Jeremy Leaf, a spokesman for RICS, said in a statement that, "The magnitude of the gains going forward is likely to continue to ease, reflecting the fact that new supply coming onto the market is starting to outstrip fresh demand.”
Sterling dropped against the dollar in the wake of the data. During early European trade, GBP/USD shed 0.34% to hit 1.5014.