RICS reports: Buyer demand & house prices both up

The latest housing survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors shows higher mortgage rates are failing to dampen the UK housing market.

A survey of its members during November shows that despite higher mortgage rates, the outlook for the housing market remains positive. RICS national house price indicator posted a figure of +25% in November, up from +16% in October.

This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase, further cementing the upward trend in house price since the summer.

ROBUST OUTLOOK

House prices will continue to rise over the next three and 12 months, reflecting a robust outlook, RICS members predicted.

New buyer enquiries maintained positive momentum, recording a net balance of +12%; largely unchanged from the previous month, and highlighting a modest but sustained recovery in buyer demand.

Supply side trends were also positive, with new instructions rising for the fifth consecutive month, as shown by a net balance of +15%.

However, agreed sales volumes remained broadly flat, with a net balance of +1% compared to +8% first time round.

LANDLORD INSTRUCTIONS

In the lettings market, the RICS reports tenant demand declined slightly in November, with a net balance of -1%, marking the first decline since 2020.

Meanwhile, landlord instructions continued to fall, with a net balance of -13%, contributing to the ongoing imbalance between supply and demand in the rental sector.

Tarrant Parsons, Senior Economist at RICS: “Although the latest survey results continue to signal a steady improvement in buyer demand across the residential market, the broader macro environment is likely to pose additional headwinds moving forward. “Most significantly, the recent rise in mortgage interest rates may curtail the recovery in market activity before long, and this is reflected in the slightly less optimistic sales expectations data coming through this month.”

 

As reported in The Negotiator – the trade magazine for the UK estate and letting agency industry – 12.12.2024

 

Property pictured: Millbeck Green, Collingham SOLD (subject to contract) by Beadnall Copley’s Wetherby team in November – OFFLINE through our database of qualified buyers