UK House Sales Expectations at Almost 20-Year Low Amid Brexit Fears - Survey

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK real estate sales expectations fell to a two-decade low in December 2018, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed on Thursday.

"Over the next three months, sales expectations are now either flat or negative across the UK. The headline net balance of —28% represents the poorest reading since the series was formed in 1999," the RICS said, commenting on the survey.

The balance refers to the difference between the number of respondents who anticipated prices to go up over the given period and the number expecting them to fall.

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According to the surveyor, the respondents also noted the decline in the number of inquiries and agreed sales last month.

The survey results come amid a tense situation in the United Kingdom as it may leave the European Union without a deal on March 29 if the nation's government fails to find a compromise between its parliamentarians and EU authorities on the Brexit mechanism. UK Prime Minister Theresa May, for her part, has pledged to report on the progress of the withdrawal agreement next Monday.

A no-deal Brexit means that there will be no post-divorce transition period and that the United Kingdom would have to leave the European Union without access to the bloc's single market and customs union. This will lead to the uncertainty for life and work in the United Kingdom.