UK housing sales remain subdued according to RICS
July 17, 2018
Latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey published 12th July 2018 headlined ‘UK housing sales remain subdued as rent expectations continue to heat up’.
The RICS survey reveals that: significantly, over the month, newly agreed sales have recorded the sixteenth successive month of continued decline, with 7% more respondents reporting a fall in agreed sales.
The survey states: For the second month in a row, new instructions have risen, with 10% more respondents seeing an increase in the flow of properties being put up for sale. However, with average stocks remaining close to historic lows at 43 it would be too early to suggest that this issue is lessening as an obstacle.
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist said:
“It is hard to see what is going to provide much impetus for activity in the housing market in the near term. Meanwhile the on-going challenges around lifting the delivery pipeline, reflected in last week’s disappointing data on housing starts, is captured in the suspicion in the survey that prices are likely to resume an upward course over the coming year. The challenge is also visible in the response of the private lettings market to change to the tax treatment on investment properties. While it is understandable that the government wanted to provide a lift for first time buyers, this may well come at the cost of higher rents as the appeal of buy to let diminishes.”
Read the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey 12th July 2018 in full click here.
You May Also Enjoy
1 in 8 new-build homes unsold after six months
Developers hold their nerve as one in eight new-build homes remain unsold after six months Jonathan Samuels, CEO of specialist lender, Octane Capital, believes that developers are increasingly prioritising profitability over speed of sale, with new-build homes spending longer on the market as developers resist unnecessary price reductions and instead look to protect scheme…
Read More 
Rental price and average salary tracker – July 2026
Year-on-year Rental Price Growth Moderates, Yet High Demand and Limited Supply Continue to Push Rents Higher London recorded the strongest monthly rental growth, with average rents rising from £2,385 to £2,484 (+4.2% month-on-month). As a result, the representative annual salary needed to secure the average-priced rental home increased from £70,050 to £74,520 (+6.4% year-on-year). The…
Read More 
Holiday let reforms fail to boost housing market activity in Devon and Cornwall
The latest research by LandSale has revealed that the introduction of council tax premiums on second homes, alongside wider measures designed to curb the growth of holiday lets, has yet to deliver a stronger housing market in Devon and Cornwall, where sales activity continue to lag behind the South West and England as a whole.…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 10/8/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Letting agent complaints are up 47% and why everyone is misreading the property redress The competence tax has been abolished Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink Somewhere in a lettings office this week, a property manager is reading a six-page document about a deposit…
Read More 
Rental price and average salary tracker – July 2026
Year-on-year Rental Price Growth Moderates, Yet High Demand and Limited Supply Continue to Push Rents Higher London recorded the strongest monthly rental growth, with average rents rising from £2,385 to £2,484 (+4.2% month-on-month). As a result, the representative annual salary needed to secure the average-priced rental home increased from £70,050 to £74,520 (+6.4% year-on-year). The…
Read More 
House prices stable in July
House prices stable in July (0.0%), following a +0.2% rise in June Average property price now £299,253 compared with £299,396 in June Annual growth of +0.1% is the slowest rate of house price inflation since November 2023 Northern Ireland continues to record the UK’s strongest annual growth at +7.4% Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages…
Read More