![\"House\"](\"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/House.jpg\")
House prices in Britain are no longer rising and in London they are falling at the fastest pace since 2009, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Thursday, citing political worries and last week\u2019s interest rate hike.\nRICS\u2019s benchmark house price index for Britain as a whole fell more sharply than expected to +1 in October, a level consistent with flat price growth, down from +6 in September.
\nEconomists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected a gentler fall to +4.
\nRICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said a lack of homes on the market, political uncertainty as Britain tries to negotiate its exit from the European Union and last week\u2019s first interest rate hike by the Bank of England since 2007 were all taking their toll on the housing market.
\nFirst-time buyers are increasingly focusing on new-build homes which are supported by government incentives, he added.
\n\u201cA stagnant second-hand market is bad news for the wider economy, not just in terms of spending but also because it restricts mobility,\u201d Rubinsohn said.
\nThe survey of a housing market that has been cooling since the June 2016 Brexit vote weighed on the share prices of British construction firms, which were mostly down 2-4 percent on the day.
\nHousebuilder Redrow said ongoing political and economic uncertainty had caused a slowdown in sales in recent weeks.
\n\u201cThe latest RICS survey shows that housing market demand was weakening rapidly even before the (Bank of England) raised interest rates last week,\u201d said Samuel Tombs, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
\nOther measures of house prices have shown a slight pickup in recent months, but RICS painted a gloomier picture, saying most regions were starting to see a drop in sales, following the trend in London.
\nThe RICS survey is a good guide to other measures of construction industry activity.
\nThe fall in sales mirrored a recent slide in demand from buyers and suggested sales would fall over the next 12 months.
\nRICS\u2019 gauge of price expectations for the next three months fell in October to -11 from -8. With the exception of a sharp dip in June 2016 \u2014 the month of the Brexit vote \u2014 this was the weakest reading since mid-2012.
\nWhile London and the southeast of England were seeing house price falls, prices were still rising in North West England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, RICS said.
\nThe high price of property means many people in Britain are unable to afford a home of their own, putting pressure on the finance minister Philip Hammond to encourage more homebuilding when he announces a budget plan on Nov. 22.
\nRICS called on Hammond to lift a cap on borrowing by councils to fund homebuilding.<\/p>\n