Despite new figures from the RICS Residential Market Survey showing a rather ‘gloomy’ outlook about the state of the residential property market in the UK, West One Loans predicts that housing market activity and will soon ‘pick up again’.

Low levels of supply and stagnant sales figures have led RICS members to express concern about the immediate future of the housing market, with the latest report stating that ‘the UK housing market continues to lack impetus, with new buyer enquiries and agreed sales stagnant in March’.

A low level of housing supply is having a dampening impact on property price growth in many parts of the country. But despite the fact that the housing market continues to be underpinned by a lack of stock, Stephen Wasserman, managing director of West One Loans, believes that market conditions in both the sales and rental sectors will improve in the near term.

He commented: “Despite a challenging period of economic turbulence, over the next few months we predict that house prices and lettings activity will pick up again. In large part, this is because the chasm between supply and demand persists and cannot be quickly fixed.

“In this climate, speed is of the essence and we’re seeing increasing interest from landlords and developers who are seeking out the flexible financing options needed to compete.

“Bridging is entering the mainstream as a favoured option for those who are needing to prop up chains, complete in just a matter of days or secure auction purchases.”