UK housing market confidence remains fragile as global headwinds weigh on near-term outlook
The February 2026 RICS Residential Market Survey depicts a fragile UK housing market, with geopolitical uncertainty from the Middle East conflict dampening sentiment that had shown some early-year improvement.
Buyer enquiries fell sharply to -26% (from -15%), and agreed sales slipped to -12%. The potential reversal of recent mortgage rate easing, driven by renewed inflationary pressures, is seen as a major headwind. New listings remained essentially flat at +2%.
Headline house prices posted a net balance of -12%, but regional divergence is stark: London (-40%), the South East (-24%), and East Anglia (-26%) face the most pressure, while Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the North West continue to see gains. Near-term price expectations dropped to -18%, and twelve-month expectations moderated to +33% (from +43%), with London's outlook collapsing from +56% to +7%.
In lettings, landlord instructions remain deeply negative at -27% as the Renters' Rights Act drives exits from the sector, while rents are expected to keep rising. The survey covered 635 branches from 287 responses.
The survey suggests that house price growth will likely remain subdued.