UK housing market downturn eased a little in June, RICS reports

July 9 (Reuters) - The downturn in Britain's housing market abated slightly last month, although sentiment remains fragile and prone to uncertainty, a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed on Thursday.

"While the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged, uncertainty around the outlook for inflation and borrowing costs continues to weigh on sentiment, even if the recent decline in oil prices is a welcome development," said RICS head of market and analysis Tarrant Parsons.

RICS also said:

• The survey's headline house price balance was little changed at -33%

• May's reading was revised up slightly to -34%

• A measure of new buyer enquiries improved to -29% from -34% in each of the previous two months, the least negative reading since February

• Near-term sales expectations recovered to -16% from a March low of -34%, while over the 12-month horizon sales were seen broadly flat at +1% and price expectations rose to +8% from +6%

• In the rental market, tenant demand strengthened to +18%, the strongest since May 2025, while landlord instructions stayed negative at -18%; rents were expected to rise by about 2.5% over the next year

• "Until there is greater clarity over both the political backdrop and the path of interest rates, housing market activity is likely to remain relatively subdued in the near term," Parsons said

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla)