LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors UK house price balance felll in March to its lowest in the 30-year history of the survey, RICS said on Tuesday, sending a strong signal that the housing market is cooling fast.
The net balance of surveyors reporting falling, rather than rising, house prices deteriorated to -78.5 in the three months to March from -65.7 in February -- the lowest since survey began in January 1978 and well below forecasts for a reading of -67.5. The figures are likely to reinforce expectations the Bank of England will need to continue cutting interest rates this year,after trimming rates by 25 basis points to 5 percent last week. Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax said last week that house prices fell in March at their sharpest pace since the recession of the early 1990s as the credit crunch forces banks to toughen up mortgage terms and begins to hurt consumers. "Sentiment is at a very low ebb and will continue to remain depressed while the economy suffers from this unique liquidity blight," said Jeremy Leaf, RICS spokesman.