Capital adds: A look ahead at the UK housing market's spring recovery, with leading indicators breaking the quiet December situation.

According to Knight Frank analysts Anthony Codling and Oliver Dyson, despite the sluggish performance of the UK housing market in December, residential developers expect a busy selling season this spring. These analysts suggest that this is not surprising, considering the budget announcement at the end of November and the anticipation of Christmas and New Year festivities throughout the month. However, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey, forward indicators have started to improve. These analysts state that this has been confirmed by the latest report from Rightmove and investor conference calls with residential developers Vistry and Persimmon. The Royal Bank of Canada says, "It seems that all the pieces are in place for a strong spring selling season, and we expect the January UK residential survey from RICS to be more optimistic than December's."