16% of RICS members saw a positive movement in house prices over the October survey period, according to the latest RICS survey.

Northern Ireland, Scotland, the North East, North West, and London all now show firmly positive house price movement.

Only Yorkshire and the Humber, recorded negative figures.

New buyer enquiries were up 12% in October in the fourth successive monthly rise, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Market Survey.

And a rising share of respondents (20%) believe that house prices will continue to go up over the next three months, which is up from 12% in September.

All parts of the UK

Virtually all parts of the UK are expected to see a rise in house prices in the year to come, led by firm growth across Northern Ireland and Scotland.

But in the rental sector the squeeze between rising numbers of tenants and a drop off in landlords continues to tighten.

Landlord instructions fall

Nearly 20% reported increasing tenant demand over the three months to October. At the same time, landlord instructions fell by 29%.

And unsurprisingly, 33% of respondents expect rental prices to be driven higher over the coming three months.

Tina Paillet, RICS President (main picture), says: “The growth in residential sales could be further supported by recent interest rate announcements by the Bank of England.

“Meanwhile, the pending expiration in the higher stamp duty threshold in spring 2025 may cause homeowners and first-time buyers to rush to take advantage of the current rate, but this will likely be followed by a weaker trend after the deadline has passed.”

The full RICS survey is available here