UK housing market slowdown is bottoming out, RICS says

LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A ‌slowdown in ​Britain's ​housing market appears to be levelling off as measures of buyer demand and agreed sales moved away ‌from recent lows, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ⁠said on Thursday.

RICS said that its house price balance rose to a ‌five-month high of -28 in August ‌from an upwardly revised -29 in July, while the net balance for new buyer enquiries rose to its highest since January ​at -19.

"August's results show a market that is gradually finding its footing, with key activity indicators having become progressively less ⁠negative over recent months. That said, any potential recovery remains fragile," RICS Head of ​Market Research Tarrant Parsons said.

• RICS members expect property prices to fall further over the next three ​months but to be stable over ‌a 12-month horizon

• London has the most negative price balance while Northern Ireland reports rising prices

• ⁠RICS' sales expectations balance rose to -3 in August from -13 in July

• Rising demand from tenants and fewer properties from landlords has pushed the ⁠net balance for rents over the next three months to +44 from +33

• RICS ​said the prospect of higher interest rates or heavier property taxation after October's annual government budget statement could weigh on prices

• Mortgage lender Lloyds ‌reported a 0.4% annual fall in house prices in August while Nationwide reported a 1.6% rise

• ‌Britain's Office for National Statistics reported a 3.7% annual rise ⁠in rents for private-sector housing ‌in July and ​a 2.0% rise in house prices in the 12 months to June

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy ‌Bruce)

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