LONDON: Britain's housing market has lost steam as demand faded from ​buyers concerned ⁠about the implications of the Middle East ‌conflict and possible increases in mortgage rates on the back ​of energy price rises, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Royal ​Institution of Chartered ​Surveyors' measure of new buyer enquiries fell sharply to a net balance of -26 in February, ⁠down from -15 in January. It was the lowest reading since December.

The survey of chartered surveyors covered February 23 to March 9, straddling the start ​of the ‌U.S.-Israel war ⁠on Iran ⁠on February 28.

"The deterioration in the geopolitical backdrop has clearly weighed ​on confidence. The recent rise ‌in oil and energy ⁠prices has also increased the likelihood that mortgage rates will remain higher for longer," Tarrant Parsons, RICS' head of market research & analytics, said.

 

The RICS report also showed:

* Near-term sales expectations slipped to a net balance of -2, the weakest since November.

* February's gauge of house prices fell to -12 ‌from -10 in January. A Reuters poll of economists ⁠had pointed to a reading of -9.

* ​Near-term house price expectations dropped to a net balance of -18 from -6.

* Tenant demand held stable in ​three months ‌to February.

* New landlord instructions ⁠stayed deeply negative (Reporting by ​Suban Abdulla, editing by Andy Bruce)