Housing market stabilises, according to RICS analysis

Analysis by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that the property market saw signs of recovery in November. Its measure of new buyer enquiries rose to a net balance of -14 last month from upwardly revised -25 in October. This marked the strongest reading since April 2022. A measure of forecasted sales over the next three months rose to +6 in November, having come in at -17 in October. Agreed sales were up to a net balance of -11% in November, from -23% in October. Analysis measuring the gap between the share of surveyors seeing rises and those seeing falls rose to -43, up from a revised reading for October of -61. Only a net 10% of agents think prices will be lower in a year's time than they are now. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Rics, said the survey results were “further evidence that sentiment is a little less negative than previously was the case”, although he accepted that many agents are “still quite cautious”. 

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