Renewed optimism from buyers and sellers saw a continued pick-up in sales activity across the UK housing market, according to the January 2020 RICS UK Residential Market Survey, with both the number of agreed sales and new homes being listed for sale improving over the month.  

At the national level, the number of homes being listed for sale increased in January, as a net balance +19% of respondents reported a rise, up from +11% in December. In addition to the increase in homes being put up for sale, January saw an increase in the number of people looking to buy as new buyer enquiries rose to a net balance of +23% from +19% in December. As well as this, agreed sales rose for a second month in a row (a net balance of +21%).

Looking ahead, respondents to the survey expect this refreshed optimism to continue with sales anticipated to rise across all UK regions, both in the near term and for the year to come.  

This up-turn in activity is also reflected in the level of market appraisals undertaken over the month, which was higher than a year ago, marking the first positive reading for this series since it was introduced in 2017 (a net balance of +20% of respondents nationally reported an increase).