LONDON, April 13 Reuters Britain39;s housing market continued to feel the pinch of higher borrowing costs in March, but property surveyors expect some improvement over the year ahead as they think interest rates are now near their peak, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS said its house price net balance which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices fell to 43 last month, up from 47 in February, and slightly above the 48 forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

RICS39;s gauges of buyer demand, sales, new listings and house prices were all in negative territory last month.

The net balance of agreed sales across Britain slipped to 31 in March from 25 for February, but still above the 43 low in October 2022 when financial market turmoil after former prime minister Liz Truss39;s minibudget temporarily halted new mortgage lending.

However, its indicators looking ahead pointed to hints of stability in Britain39;s housing market in the coming 12 months. The sales expectations balance for 12 months39; time rose to 1, its highest since March 2022.

The overall tone of the feedback received from respondents … is still one of caution towards the sales market, which is reflected in both the headline price and activity indicators, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS39;s chief economist, said.

There is also a sense that the mediumterm outlook is looking a little more settled, helped by…