The latest market sentiment snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warns that rents will keep rising in the near term.
It says that tenant demand edged higher in the three months to January, ending two consecutive quarters of flat or negative readings.
However, supply remains constrained, with landlord instructions still firmly negative.
As a result, rental prices are expected to continue rising in the near term.
But there is much more optimism in the sales sector, where RICS members see early signs of recovery.
Whilst overall activity remains subdued, several key indicators have continued to improve, recording their least negative readings in months.
Survey respondents are increasingly confident that sales activity will strengthen as the year progresses.
New buyer enquiries improved again in January, with the net balance rising to -15%, up from -21% in December and -29% in November.
Agreed sales followed a similar trend, with the latest net balance of -9%, the least negative reading since June 2025.
House prices at a national level appear to be stabilising.
The net balance for prices over the past three months stood at -10%, improving steadily from a low of -19% in October 2025.
Although momentum remains weak overall, RICS believes the consistent improvement over recent months suggests a potential turning point is emerging.
Regional performance continues to diverge.
Price growth remains strongest in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with upward trends also reported in the North West and North of England.
In contrast, London, the South East, South West and East Anglia continue to lag behind the national average reflecting ongoing affordability challenges, though conditions in these areas have also improved modestly.
Looking ahead, sentiment around the medium-term outlook has strengthened notably.
While expectations for sales over the next three months eased to a net balance of +4%, reflecting short-term caution, optimism over the next twelve months surged to +35%, the strongest reading since December 2024.
Price expectations show a similar pattern, with +43% of respondents anticipating higher prices over the year ahead which is the most positive outlook since February 2025.
This article is taken from Landlord Today