Key facts
- UK housing market activity remained subdued in May, according to a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey.
- New buyer enquiries were unchanged at -34%, marking the first time since January the figure did not decline.
- The reading for agreed sales was -37%, also unchanged from the previous month.
- House prices continued to fall, with the measure holding at -35% for the second month.
- Landlord instructions for rental properties decreased significantly to -28%, the weakest since December.
- Tenant demand in the rental market rose, and rent expectations strengthened to +36%.
Britain's housing market showed little sign of recovery in May, with buyer interest remaining stagnant and house prices continuing their decline. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that the measure for new buyer enquiries was unchanged at -34%, the first time since January it did not worsen. Similarly, agreed sales held steady at -37%. The house price measure also remained unchanged at -35% for the second consecutive month, indicating the broadest fall in prices since November 2023.
However, there were slight improvements in forward-looking indicators. Near-term sales expectations edged up to -25%, and over a 12-month horizon, sales expectations rose to +2%, with price expectations following a similar trend.
In the rental market, new protections for tenants introduced in May appear to have deterred landlords, with landlord instructions falling to -28%, the weakest reading since December. Despite this, tenant demand increased, and rent expectations strengthened significantly to +36%, the highest level since May 2025.
Tarrant Parsons, RICS head of market research and analysis, noted that the possibility of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of England is likely to keep market sentiment fragile.