UK housing prices slide lower than forecast; fewer homes put up for sale

London

A CLOSELY watched gauge of British house prices neared a five-year low, and sales look set to remain subdued in the months to come as fewer home owners put their properties on the market.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Thursday that its house price index fell to zero in February from a downwardly revised +7 the month before.

This was a bigger drop than forecast by any economist polled by Reuters and matched November's reading, the lowest since March 2013.

Britain's economy slowed last year and appears set for relatively subdued growth this year, as consumers' disposable income remains under pressure from a jump in inflation triggered by the fall in the pound after June 2016's Brex…