LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market showed some signs of turning a corner last month as uncertainty about finance minister Rachel Reeves' tax plans lifted and borrowing costs looked
Surveyors Show Increased Optimism for UK's Housing Market Recovery
UK Housing Market Trends and Expectations
LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market showed some signs of turning a corner last month as uncertainty about finance minister Rachel Reeves' tax plans lifted and borrowing costs looked set to come down further, a survey showed on Thursday.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said activity remained weak in December but expectations for sales volumes and prices in 2026 rose.
"The UK residential market remains in a prolonged soft patch, with December's survey recording a sixth consecutive month of negative momentum in buyer enquiries. That said, there are tentative signs of a shift in sentiment," RICS' head of market research and analysis, Tarrant Parsons, said.
Current Market Activity
Sales expectations for the next three months hit their highest since October 2024 at +22 and optimism about the 12 months ahead more than doubled to +34, the highest since the end of 2024.
Factors Influencing Optimism
RICS linked the improvement in confidence among surveyors to the prospect of further cuts to Bank of England interest rates and to the end of months of speculation about possible tax rises in Reeves' budget on November 26 - when she announced 26 billion pounds ($35 billion) in tax hikes but deferred most of them.
The RICS report also showed:
* December's gauge of house prices held at -14; * November's gauge of house prices was revised up from -16; * new vendor instructions showed a net balance of 0% afterseveral months of decline; * low appraisal activity suggested any big increase in stockwill take time; * tenant demand weakened in December; * new landlord instructions stayed deeply negative.($1 = 0.7437 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by David Milliken)
