River pretty near houses (4)
I believe the answer is:
tyne
'river' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'pretty near houses' is the wordplay.
'houses' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (part of the clue houses the answer).
'TYNE' can be found hidden inside 'pretty near'.
(Other definitions for tyne that I've seen before include "River of northeast England" , "Banker" , "River at Gateshead" , "River running through Newcastle" , "Geordie river" .)