UK housing market remains subdued, landlords cut back, RICS says

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market remained sluggish last month but there was a recovery in confidence about the sales outlook, a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed on Thursday.

RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn said the currently subdued market was unlikely to spur house-builders to speed up construction - a priority for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham - while new regulation for landlords was weighing on rentals.

• The survey's headline house price balance improved to -30% from -32% in June

• The fall in prices was strongest in London and southeast and southwest England

• Prices were seen rising over the next 12 months

• A gauge of new buyer enquiries held at -28% while properties coming on the market fell less sharply than in June

• Agreed sales were unchanged at -30%

• Near-term sales expectations improved for a fourth month in a row to -14% while expected sales over 12 months edged up to +3%, the highest since the start of the Iran war

• In rentals, tenant demand weakened in the three months to July and landlords reduced properties put on the market.

(Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by Suban Abdulla)