The East of England housing market slowed in December with flat sales and prices anticipated in the near term.
The region's residential sector stagnated in the final month of 2017, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Residential Market Survey.
However, there was an uplift in new buyer enquires with respondents to the survey saying this was down to people delaying their decisions from earlier in the year. Sales were broadly flat over the month of December, in the East, with sales expectations anticipated to decline slightly over the coming three months.
An overwhelming majority of surveyors (86%) also said they had not seen an increase in first time buyer enquiries since changes to stamp duty in the Autumn Budget.
David Knights, of David Brown & Co in Ipswich, said: 'After a traditionally quiet month we anticipate pent-up demand will result in greater activity both in terms of instructions and sales.'
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