March 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. housing sales dropped to the lowest since at least 1978 as the recession pushed prices down further, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.
The average number of transactions in a survey of real- estate agents and surveyors dropped to 9.5 per respondent in the quarter through February, the lowest since the data began three decades ago, the group said today in London. The gauge of house prices fell last month to minus 78.3 from minus 76.6 in January.
The number of new homes being built in Britain may fall to the lowest since 1921 this year as the recession deepens, the National Housing Federation predicted today. The Bank of England cut its key interest rate last week to 0.5 percent, the lowest ever, and said it will buy assets to replenish banks’ balance sheets and encourage lending.
