NATIONAL house-price growth in the UK is set to come to a halt in 2018, according to the latest forecast report.

However, a lack of stock means outright declines are not likely.

Minor rises and falls across the UK are expected to cancel each other out.

Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the North West of England should see the strongest growth while London, the South East, East Anglia and the North East likely to be weaker housing markets.

A lack of stock means that potential buyers will continue to be faced with a very limited choice and it looks unlikely that this constraint will be alleviated anytime soon, says the 2018 forecast report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

One of the biggest factors expected to hit activity is stretched affordability.

The report explains that, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), median house prices across England are now a greater multiple of average earnings at eight times than at any point in history.

The report states: “Changes in fresh demand and supply have become virtually aligned, curbing downward pressure on prices from weakening demand.

“Given this, even though we envisage activity falling slightly next year, our headline projection is that, come the end of 2018, prices across the UK as a whole will have seen almost no change from a year earlier.”

RICS predicts that property prices will see no change at the headline level.

Currently at a little over five per cent, the report says this growth will fade further through the first half of 2018.

“Following a pretty lacklustre finish to 2017, the indications are that momentum across the housing market will be lacking as 2018 gets under way,” said Tarrant Parsons, RICS economist.

“With several of the forces currently weighing on activity set to persist over the near term, it’s difficult to envisage a material step-up in impetus during the next 12 months.

“A real lack of stock coming onto the market remains one of the biggest challenges.”

He added: “Government schemes such as Help to Buy should continue to provide some support to sales activity.”