2020.07.0906:43:00UTC+00UK Housing Market Recovery Underway: RICS

The UK housing market showed signs of a recovery as buyer demand, sales and fresh listing improved noticeably following the lockdown related falls, according to the residential market survey results published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

A net balance of 61 percent of survey respondents reported a rise in buyer enquiries in June, which was a strong rebound from -94 percent registered in May, data showed Thursday.

At the same time, new instructions being listed onto the sales market rose firmly with the net balance reaching 42 percent compared to -22 percent in May.

The survey's gauge of newly agreed sales moved into positive territory for the first time since February. A net balance of +43 percent of contributors cited an increase in transactions in June. Sales are expected to rise over the next three months.

The house price balance rose to -15 percent from -32 percent in May. Nonetheless, house prices continue to remain under some pressure. The house price balance remained negative for the third successive month.

Further, the outlook for house prices turned progressively less negative in each of the last three months, with June's net balance rising to -12 percent from -43 percent previously.