UK housing market sees early signs of recovery - Rics

(Sharecast News) - The UK housing market showed growing signs of stabilisation last month, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday, as prices ticked up and sentiment strengthened. According to the latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the house price balance was -10 last month.

While still in negative territory, that was an improvement on the -14 recorded in both December and November, and on October's low of -19.

A balance is the difference between respondents reporting a fall and those seeing a rise.

The UK housing market endured a difficult end to 2025, buffeted by numerous headwinds including geopolitical tensions and mounting uncertainty in the run-up to the later-than-usual autumn Budget. December is also traditionally a quiet month for buying and selling homes.

However, the latest Rics survey showed buyer enquiries had improved in January along with prices. The balance rose to -15 from -21 a month earlier, while agreed sales, with a net balance of -9, were the least negative since June.

Sentiment also strengthened. Expectations for the next three months fell sharply, from 22 to 4, which Rics said reflected "short-term caution".

But further ahead and the expectations balance for the next 12 months was 35, the strongest reading since December 2024, while 43% of respondents expect house prices to rise over the same period, the most positive outlook since February 2025.

Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said: "There are early signs that market conditions may be improving after a challenging period, although activity levels are still subdued, meaning any recovery is likely to be gradual.

"Whether this tentative improvement develops into sustained momentum will depend heavily on the trajectory of mortgage rates and broader macro confidence over the coming months."

The January survey was based on 232 responses from 456 branches.