Bloomberg - The U.K. housing slump deepened in February and is now the worst since the eve of the nation’s last recession in 1990, a survey of real-estate professionals showed.
The number of residential property agents and surveyors saying prices fell exceeded those reporting gains by 64.1 percentage points in February, the most since June 1990, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said today. In London, the balance was the worst since May 2003. A separate report showed annual retail sales growth slowed in February.
Bovis Homes Group Plc, the U.K.’s most profitable homebuilder, yesterday urged the Bank of England to take “decisive action” and cut its benchmark interest rate further from the current 5.25 percent. Policy makers are assessing the need to shore up economic growth after the end of a decade-long housing boom against the threat of inflation.
“The credit squeeze has really begun to …
