Recession fears hit homes for sale

The number of homeowners putting their property up for sale in the UK fell last month as fears of a double-dip recession knocked confidence, according to a survey here Tuesday.New instructions, which reflect supply levels, dropped in September as more surveyors reported a fall rather than rise in the supply of property, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said.The monthly RICS housing market survey revealed a continuing decline in house prices with more surveyors recording prices falling rather than rising over the last three months.Elsewhere, RICS said September's survey highlighted the widening regional gap as London remains the only region where prices are rising while the rest of the UK, such as the East and West Midlands, and several other areas recorded falling prices.The decline in new instructions comes despite mortgage providers slashing rates in a bid to draw in new customers and boosted by the Bank of England's record low base rate of 0.5 percent. Average mortgage repayments stand at 574.15 pounds, making up 26 percent of earnings after tax, according to research by the Halifax bank, compared with 48 percent of take home pay at 887.62 pounds in mid 2007.Michael Newey, RICS spokesman, said: "Falling supply of fresh stock is indicative of general fears overhanging the economy, with many potential sellers preferring to stay put for now." Elsewhere, Newey said the Bank of England's decision to inject 75 billion pounds of cash into the economy through its quantitative easing programme, printing money, will help to keep mortgage rates down and limit the risk of a pick-up in repossessions.