UK housing market improves but slowdown seen

Analysts are forecasting another slowdown for the housing market with markets largely expecting the BoE’s bank rate to peak at 5.5% later this year, up from 4.5% now. — Reuters

LONDON: Britain’s housing market has shown some improvement in May, but further interest rate increases by the Bank of England (BoE) are expected to put more pressure on demand and on prices in the coming months, an industry survey shows.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) measure of new buyer enquiries rose to a net balance of -18, the least negative figure since -14 in May 2022 and up from -34 in April.