UK house prices unchanged in June - Rics

UK house prices were unchanged in June, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday, but optimism sparked across the sector following the general election.

The headline house price balance in June’s UK residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was unchanged month-on-month at -17.

The new buyer enquiries balance was also broadly in line with the previous reading, easing just one point to -7. In contrast, newly agreed sales improved to -7 from -13.

However, three-month price expectations stabilised, with a net balance of 5. Prior to June’s survey, the balance had been in contractionary territory for two years.

A net balance of 20 also expect a recovery in residential sales in the near-term, up from 10 in June and the highest level since January 2022.

"These results indicate that respondents have confidence in the newly-elected Labour government, which has voiced a strong commitment to boosting the housing market, aiming to deliver 1.5m homes over the next five years - a figure not hit since the 1960s," Rics noted.

Tarrant Parsons, senior economist at Rics, said: "Although activity across the housing market remained subdued last month, forward-looking aspects did improve slightly.

"There are some factors emerging now that could support a recovery in the months ahead. If the Bank of England does decide that the current inflation backdrop is benign enough to start loosening monetary policy next month, this may prompt a further softening in lending rates.

"In addition, the recent election delivered a clear outcome, with housing pushed up the political agenda."

The survey, which covered 483 branches from 235 responses, was carried out between 24 June and 8 July.

A net balance is the proportion of respondents reporting a rise minus those reporting a fall.