Housing market weakens as buyer demand softens and prices retain downward pressure

RICS UK Residential Survey August 2025

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Survey for August 2025 reveals a continued slowdown in housing market activity, with buyer demand, sales, and new listings all under pressure.

Key findings from the August survey include:

• Buyer demand declines further: New buyer enquiries fell for the second consecutive month, with a net balance of -17%, compared with -7% in July.
• Sales activity eases: Agreed sales slipped more sharply, with a net balance of -24% (down from -17% last month). Respondents expect sales to remain largely stagnant over the coming quarter.
• House prices under pressure: Overall house price gauge dropped to -19%, extending the downward trend. More noticeable declines were reported in East Anglia (-64%) and the South West (-46%), while Northern Ireland continues to buck the trend with rising prices.
• Muted supply: New vendor instructions recorded a slight decline (-3%), the first negative reading since June 2024, suggesting fewer fresh listings.
• Rental sector tightens: Landlord instructions saw the steepest fall since April 2020 (-37%), while tenant demand remains resilient. As a result, rents are expected to rise by around 3% over the next year.

Looking ahead, survey participants remain cautious. Near-term expectations point to a continued softening in prices (-20% over the next three months), whilst sales are forecast to remain flat. On a twelve-month horizon, modest price growth is anticipated, but expectations have weakened compared with earlier in the year.

Tarrant Parsons, Head of Market Research and Analysis at RICS, said: "With buyer demand easing and agreed sales in decline, the housing market is clearly feeling the effects of ongoing uncertainty. Concerns over the wider economic and fiscal outlook, combined with questions around the future path of interest rates amid stubbornly high inflation, are weighing on sentiment at this time."

-ENDS-

Notes for editors: You may download a copy of the UK residential report at this link.

Commentary from survey respondents regionally can be found in the economic pdf on the back pages - you are free to use these.

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