UK Housing Market Conditions Weaken On Challenging Macroeconomic Factors

(RTTNews) - The UK housing market conditions weakened in March as demand faded following the end of stamp duty holiday amid rising concerns about economic outlook, survey data showed on Thursday.

New buyer demand turned negative and hit the lowest since September 2023, the Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Thursday. The index slid sharply to -32 percent in March from -16 percent in February.

For agreed sales, a net balance of -16 percent in March indicated a further deterioration from the February figure of -13 percent.

Looking ahead, three-month sales expectations pointed to further dip in activity over the near term. The index hit -18 percent compared to -6 percent in February. However, a net balance of +11 percent of survey participants expect sales volumes to rise in twelve month horizon.

Regarding supply, the survey revealed that a net balance of +6 percent of contributors noted a moderate pick-up in the flow of fresh listings coming onto the market.

Focussing on house prices, the survey's headline gauge declined to 2 percent in March, down sharply from readings of 20 percent in January and 11 percent in February.

Going forward, the three-month house price expectations series logged a net balance of -26 percent compared to -16 percent in February.

Respondents expect prices to come under some downward pressure in the short-term. However, further ahead, twelve-month price expectations remained in positive territory, at 39 percent.