Subdued spring for the housing market

The housing market slowed further in March – mortgage approvals slipped, transactions took a surprisingly large tumble and house price growth was lacklustre. April’s data from the RICS implied that the pace of decline in activity may have eased a touch. That said, evidence of a housing market recovery remains elusive. As a result, we expect house price growth to weaken a little over the remainder of the year, while transactions are unlikely to see a meaningful improvement.