LONDON, June 9 Reuters Britain39;s housing market showed signs of a slowdown in May as fastrising inflation and higher interest rates tightened the financial squeeze for many households, according to a survey published on Thursday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS said its new buyers gauge fell to 7 from 8 in April, the first time it turned negative in nine months.

The increase in the cost of mortgage finance alongside growing concerns about the economic outlook is unsurprisingly having an impact, albeit a relatively modest one at this point, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates four times since December and is expected to do so again next week, taking Bank Rate to 1.25, despite a weak outlook for economic growth.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation said on Wednesday that Britain39;s economy would grow by 3.6 this year before flatlining at 0.0 next year, the weakest forecast for 2023 among all countries in the Group of 20 with the exception of Russia.

RICS said expectations for residential property sales over the next three and 12 months deteriorated after showing little change in May.

Prices were propped up by the longstanding shortage of properties coming onto the market.

RICS said there was a 73 percentagepoint difference between the proportion of surveyors reporting rising prices and those reporting a fall. That was down from 80 in April but was in line with the average over the last…