UK Housing Market Cools Despite Upbeat Surveyors; Positive Outlook Ahead

Data for the UK housing market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS):

January house price balance comes in at +22

• December was +26 (which was the highest reading since September 2022)
• survey's measures of growth in new buyer enquiries and agreed sales both weakened

RICS comment:

• "Growth in buyer demand lost a bit of momentum through the early part of the year, with this flatter picture likely linked to the turbulence seen across money markets in the first half of January,"
• "Moving forward, respondents continue to envisage a slightly positive near-term outlook for sales activity. This should be further supported by the unwinding of some of the pressures around mortgage interest rates over the past couple of weeks."