Signs of Recovery Emerge in the UK Housing Market, Says RICS Survey

Overview of the UK Housing Market Recovery

Feb 12 (Reuters) - The downturn in Britain's housing market abated in January, according to a report published on Thursday by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which added to recent signs of a recovery.

Key Findings from the RICS Survey

The survey found improvements in RICS' measures of new buyer enquiries and house prices and followed reports from mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax that showed rising house prices last month.

Economic Context and Future Outlook

There have been other suggestions of an improvement in the economy in early 2026 which analysts have linked to a removal of the uncertainty about tax increases in finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget in late November.

KEY DETAILS

• RICS' house price balance rose to -10%, the highest reading since June and up from a revised -13% in December. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of -11.

• A gauge of new buyer enquiries rose to -15% from -21%, the highest reading since July.

• "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," Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said.

• RICS' gauge of optimism for sales over the next 12 months jumped to the highest level since December 2024.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by William Schomberg)