First signs of a slowdown in housing market

Britain's housing boom is beginning to cool, according to a survey showing price growth stabilised in the three months to the end of May.

The pace of growth remained at a 30-month high in the quarter, according to research published yesterday by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It was the first time for six months, however, that house price growth failed to accelerate.

There was increased caution about the state of the market looking forward. The number of surveyors predicting house prices would continue to rise in the coming months slipped to 56 per cent, compared with 75 per cent in April.

A shortage of decent property in the market, combined with a large number of potential buyers, has kept the boom alive.

The survey also showed a widening in the traditional north-south divide as price growth in the south outpaced that in the north, with London and the South-east performing particularly well.