RICS has reported in its May 2011 UK Housing Market Survey that the hoped-for spring bounce in the housing market failed to occur during May, as fears over the economy and lack of mortgage finance continued to depress activity levels.

It also reported that newly agreed sales in May slipped back from the previous month’s reading, as only 5% more surveyors reported sales rose rather than fell.

The average number of completed sales per surveyor also fell by 3.4% in the three months to May, to just 14.7 – the lowest level since January.

The average number of stocks per surveyor increased by 8.1% over the month to 71.3 (from 66), as more properties came to market and many stayed on surveyors’ books for longer. Given the rise in stock levels and fewer sales levels during May, the sales to stock ratio – an indicator of the balance between demand and supply – fell to 20.6%, well below the long run average of 33.5%.

Significantly, there was little sign of a renewed appetite to view property, with new buyer enquiries little changed on the month (-2%); many surveyors cited the bank holidays for the flattening of demand. However, RICS reported that new vendor instructions continued to rise, but the pace of increase slowed slightly during May (to +15%).