New RICS survey shows rosy outlook for UK housing market
First published on KensingtonHouse.com on 1 February 2024. Figures, forecasts and quotations reflect that date and have not been updated. Read it as a record of the market at the time, not as a current view.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported last week that its measure of forecasted sales for the next three months had risen to 6 in November, up from -17 in October and the first positive reading it has offered since April 2022. The regular survey tracks the difference between the percentage of UK surveyors registering increases and those registering falls in property sales.
“The increased strength and optimism in the market is aided by increased confidence that the interest rate cycle has peaked”
This latest set of data from Rics suggests that recent improvements in the UK housing market, including rising prices and increased mortgage approvals, will continue in the coming months. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, remarked that the increased strength and optimism we are seeing in the market is being “aided by increased confidence that the interest rate cycle has peaked, which is reflected in somewhat more competitive mortgage products coming to the market.” And Katy Eatenton, mortgage specialist at wealth advisory firm Lifetime Wealth Management, observed: “The rate war that is raging between lenders is now really starting to ignite demand for property.”
Original publication: kensingtonhouse.com, 1 February 2024. The organisations quoted are named in the text; their figures are reported as they stood on the publication date.