RICS UK Residential Market Survey (house price balance) in United Kingdom

The RICS house price balance is a monthly sentiment survey of surveyors and estate agents from the RICS professional body on how prices have moved over the past three months in England and Wales. The net balance is the share of respondents reporting rises minus those reporting falls (range -100 to +100).

A net balance (breadth, not magnitude): the percentage of respondents seeing prices rise minus the percentage seeing them fall, seasonally adjusted. It does not quantify the actual change in prices, only their aggregate direction.

It leads the housing market, capturing professionals' sentiment ahead of the actual price indices (Halifax, Nationwide, ONS). A more negative balance points to downward pressure on prices.

It is an opinion (sentiment) survey, not a measure of actual prices, and it is private rather than official. Much of the monthly numerical detail sits behind a paid subscription, and RICS re-runs the seasonal adjustment each month, so recent readings can be revised slightly.