The UK housing market remained soft at the end of 2025, but confidence is returning as expectations for sales and prices turn more positive, new analysis by RICS has indicated.

RICS suggested that buyer demand and agreed sales remained in negative territory in December, reflecting a market that has been subdued for much of 2025.

New buyer enquiries registered a net balance of -24%, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey, while agreed sales came in at -19%. However, both measures improved slightly on the previous month, signalling that the downturn is losing momentum.

However, RICS said the standout indicator was a shift in forward-looking sentiment. Sales expectations over the next three months rose to +22%, the strongest reading since October 2024.

Optimism strengthened further looking a year ahead, with a net balance of +34% of respondents expecting sales volumes to rise – more than double the level seen in November. Surveyors pointed to easing interest rate expectations and the clearing of Budget-related uncertainty as key drivers behind the turnaround in mood.

RICS head of market research and analysis, Tarrant Parsons, said: “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 beneath the surface.

“Near-term sales expectations have strengthened, and the twelve-month outlook has edged into more positive territory. The key test for 2026 will be whether borrowing costs ease on a sustained basis. If so, this could provide the catalyst needed to drive a recovery in buyer demand.”

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