The RICS UK Residential Market Survey showed the house price balance rising 4 points to -15 in September 2025, marking the first improvement in four months and beating forecasts of -18. Despite the uptick, prices stayed under pressure, with the South East and East Anglia seeing the steepest declines, while Scotland and Northern Ireland posted modest gains. Respondents remained cautious about a rebound in sales volumes, with both short-term and 12-month expectations at -9%. Although near-term price expectations stayed negative at -21%, a net +12% of participants expected prices to rise over the next year. Tarrant Parsons, head of market research and analytics at RICS, noted: “The housing market continues to struggle for momentum, with no clear catalyst in sight for a near-term turnaround.”