The latest industry survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that British house prices moved lower at a faster pace in April, with a headline net balance indicating more surveyors reported falls than rises over the past three months.
RICS reported its headline house price net balance weakened to 34% in April from 25% in March. The reading signals an increase in the share of surveyors who are seeing prices decline, a trend the survey attributes to the dampening effect of elevated borrowing costs on the sales market.
Demand-side indicators also showed strain. New buyer enquiries recorded a net balance of 34% in April, an improvement from 40% in March, but still consistent with a situation where more respondents saw enquiries fall rather than rise. Agreed sales softened slightly, with the net balance moving to 36% from 35% previously.
"Buyers are sitting on their hands at present, wondering what is going to happen next," said Christopher Clark FRICS of Ely Langley Greig in Eastleigh, as cited in the report.
Expectations for prices over the near term remained firmly negative at a net balance of 38%, though this was less pessimistic than the 45% reading recorded in March. Over a twelve-month horizon, the price expectations balance eased to 5%, the weakest outcome since late 2023. Within that year-ahead view, RICS highlighted that London, the South East and East Anglia posted negative expectations.
Sales expectations followed a similar pattern. Near-term sales expectations were recorded at 32%, while the twelve-month sales balance slipped into negative territory at 6%, a metric that has deteriorated steadily over the past three months according to the survey.
The RICS data pointed to a widening North-South divide in market performance. Price declines were most pronounced in London, the South East, East Anglia and the South West. By contrast, the North West and the North of England remained marginally positive on prices, and Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to report rising prices.
On the supply side, new vendor instructions were broadly unchanged at a net balance of 3%, compared with 6% previously. However, the new appraisals measure - which compares current appraisal activity with the same period a year earlier - fell sharply to 16% from zero, signaling the potential for a slowing pipeline of fresh listings.
Turning to the lettings market, tenant demand edged up to a net balance of 14% on the seasonally adjusted quarterly series. Landlord instructions remained negative at 17%, although that was an improvement from negative 24% in the previous quarter. Expectations for rental price changes over the next three months were unchanged at 25%, broadly in line with the average over the past year.
"Rental supply remains under pressure. Implementation of the Renters' Rights Act has led some landlords to exit the sector, citing increased regulation and costs," said James Farrance of Braxton in Maidenhead, as cited in the report.
Several surveyors referenced the Renters' Rights Act, which took effect on May 1, as a factor constraining rental supply. The survey covered 415 branches and included responses from 205 participants.
In aggregate, the RICS findings portray a sales market coping with high borrowing costs, more subdued enquiry flows, and a pipeline of new listings that may be cooling. At the same time, the lettings market shows persistent tenant demand alongside signs of constrained supply following regulatory change.