UK housing market cooled significantly in March due to economic uncertainty surrounding the Iran war, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered (RICS). The survey also found that new buyer demand, sales expectations and house prices all softened significantly. This follows an unexpected drop in mortgage lender Halifax's measure of house prices. The news of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran led to a sharp fall in swap market rates, but they remain higher than their levels before the conflict began. The future of the housing market depends on whether or not surges in oil and energy costs will begin to reverse.