My Student Let

September has seen house prices drop for a third successive month as properties flooded on to the market, according to research.

And the news means that property investment will become more attractive to buy-to-let investors looking to put money into student accommodation and professional accommodation in and around Chichester.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that the balance of surveyors reporting an increase in new instructions almost doubled during the month to 22%.

The group said the rise was due to homeowners trying to sell their property before a further deterioration in the economy, or testing the water ahead of the Government’s forthcoming spending cut announcement.

But the increase in sellers was not matched by a rise in buyers, as people continued to wait to see how the market develops, while mortgage finance also remained tight.

Around 2% more surveyors said they had seen a fall in new buyer enquiries than those who saw a rise, although this was down from a balance of 17% of surveyors who reported a fall in buyers in August.

Unsurprisingly, given the rise in properties being put up for sale and the ongoing shortage of buyers, house prices continued to fall, with 36% more surveyors reporting a drop than those who saw a rise, up from 32% more the previous month.