The latest RICS residential market survey shows that buyer demand and agreed sales measures in July have returned to negative territory.
The latest data suggests that the net balance of new buyer inquiries was -6% reported in July, down from 4% last month.
This means demand has softened slightly compared to previous survey periods, RICS said.
The agreed sales were reported at -16%, with a net balance of re-deterioration compared to the -4% reading registered in June.
Taking into account the supply changes, +9% of respondents’ net balances mentioned an increase in new list traffic entering the market.
Meanwhile, the net balance reading for market assessment indicators in July was +4% compared to the same period 12 months ago.
Given that the current figure is the lowest positive return for this series since December 2024, it seems to point to the flat pipeline of new instructions moving forward.
National level housing prices recorded -13% net balance surveyed
Title scale for price growth.
RICS recommends this suggests that the average price adjustment for the national average house price is small, with the latest feedback slightly lowering as each of the first two monthly reports returns a slight decrease in readings of -7%.
Over the next three months, respondents expect prices to remain small
Decreasing pressure at the national level.
However, when asked to assess the 12-month outlook, contributors with net balance +19% predicted house prices to rise.
In the rental market, tenant demand remained more or less stable for the three months to July, recording a net balance of +4%, mitigating from the previous quarter’s reading +14%.
The negative trend indicated by landlords, with the latest net balance of -31%, representing the weakest since April 2020.
Due to lack of supply, rent prices are expected to continue to rise over the next three months, with a net balance of +25% of survey participants.
