Housing market at it’s weakest in London and South East according to RICS

April 12, 2018

The latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey – March 2018 released today reveals that momentum in the UK housing market continues to slow, as buyer demand falls for the twelfth consecutive month.

Agreed sales and new buyer enquiries continue to slip at the national level, the national price indicator remains flat, weighed down by London and the South East, according to the RICS survey report.

The survey reveals that: regionally there continues to be significant variation in the house price indicator with London exhibiting the weakest feedback. Respondents in the South East, East Anglia and the North East, also reported prices to be falling but to a lesser extent than in the capital. Meanwhile, prices continue to drift higher across all other parts of the UK, with Northern Ireland, Wales and the East Midlands seeing the strongest readings.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist said:

“The latest RICS results provide little encouragement that the drop in housing market activity is likely to be reversed anytime soon. Apart from the implications this has for the market itself, it also has the potential to impact the wider economy contributing to a softer trend in household spending. This could make Bank of England deliberations around a May hike in interest rates, which is pretty much odds-on at the moment, a little more finely balanced than would otherwise be the case. The downshift in sales for the time being continues to be more visible in London and the South East with many other parts of the country continuing to show rather greater resilience. Feedback on expectations regarding transactions suggest this divergence will persist over the coming months.”

Read the RICS UK Residential Market Survey – March 2018 in full click here.

 

 

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Kerb appeal
Breaking News

Whoever Leads Britain Next Must Focus on Growth, Housing and Opportunity

Neil Louth – Group Executive Director, LRG and CEO, Acorn Group From my perspective, the question is less about who occupies Number 10 and more about what they do once they get there. Whether it is Sir Keir Starmer continuing in office, Andy Burnham emerging as a future challenger, or someone else entirely, the next…
Read More →
Breaking News

Biggest Shake-up of Home Buying in Decades

Families and first-time buyers set to save time, money, and stress under major changes to the homebuying process – supporting the next generation and those locked out by a slow and unfair system New sales packs to ensure buyers have the information they need upfront, earlier binding agreements, and digital tools will halve the number…
Read More →
Breaking News

More than half of home movers try D.AI.Y

but 38% say it gave them bad advice   The latest research from Yopa has found that 57% of home movers have engaged in D.AI.Y, to help maintain, repair and improve their homes, although more than a third have been given advice that later turned out to be incorrect. Yopa surveyed recent homebuyers to understand…
Read More →
Breaking News

Home buying journey is about to become unrecognisable

Claire Van der Zant, CEO of Novus Strategy, comments on the Government’s homebuying reform “The industry has been very vocal in its demands for mandation and this is the most impactful example yet of government intervention that will drive the change everyone has been asking for. What it will mean is the complete reorganisation of…
Read More →
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75%

The Bank of England has announced its decision to hold the base rate at 3.75%. This decision comes as a result of wider economic uncertainty and inflation (CPI) increasing to 3.3% in March and remaining above the Bank’s 2.0% target. Here are some thoughts from within the property industry.   Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Property valuation leads to agents up 55%

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property portal, has reported a 55% year-to-date uplift in property valuation leads for agents compared with the same period last year (January – May). The uplift follows the launch of Online Agent Valuation in late 2025, designed to help agents engage more effectively with prospective sellers, alongside a series of AI enhancements across Rightmove’s valuation tools. Online Agent Valuation connects agents with motivated homeowners who choose to begin their selling journey…
Read More →