LONDON, (Reuters) – The British property market saw a slight slowdown last month due to the expiry of a tax relief on purchases. However, a decline in homes for sale appears set to continue pushing up prices, according an industry survey.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that its house price balance dropped to +68 from a downwardly adjusted +72 August. These numbers match economists’ forecasts in a Reuters survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an increase in demand for larger properties, led to Britain’s boom in the housing market.

British property prices saw an additional boost due to a tax cut on purchases of properties that expired in the middle of January.

Halifax Mortgage reported that mortgage lender Halifax said last week that September’s prices rose 7.4% on the year. It also saw a massive 1.7% jump in monthly rates, their largest increase since 2007.

RICS stated that its members believe prices will slow in the coming months. There was a surprising consensus among RICS members that rents and prices would increase further in the coming year as less homes and rentals come onto the market.

Simon Rubinsohn (RICS chief economist) stated that both rent and price expectations are close to series heights, pointing towards greater affordability in a period when the money market is sensing higher interest rates coming sooner than expected.

The Bank of England is expected to raise its main interest rates from 0.1%, which was a record low for the Bank of England. Investors believe this will happen before the year ends.