Andrew Scott Robertson, Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents, Wimbledon

Every month the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) releases its UK Residential Market Survey, shedding light on the current state of the housing market across the UK.

This blog post is brought to you by our Chairman & Managing Director, John King, FRICS, who offers valuable insights from his experience here at andrew scott robertson in Wimbledon Village. He actively contributes hiscomments to the monthly survey for the London region.

KEY OUTTAKES FROM THE FULL RICS RESIDENTIAL MARKET SURVEY FOR NOVEMBER

The latest insights from the November 2023 RICS UK Residential Survey suggest a positively optimistic outlook, supported by a slight easing in mortgage rates.

Sales Market Highlights

New Buyer Enquiries

Positive feedback on new buyer enquiries has been observed across all UK regions, and locally in London, best-in-class properties are still selling well, due to competitive mortgage rates heading below 5%. The net balance for new buyer enquiries in November stood at -14%, this figure is the least negative since April 2022 indicating a potential uplift.

Agreed Sales

The national net balance for agreed sales improved by 12%, signalling an increase in the volume of sales. The average time to finalise a sale has also improved slightly due in part due to an improvement in efficiency.

New Instructions

The flow of new instructions onto the market has remained low in both October and November. Respondents report that the number of market appraisals is still below the levels seen twelve months ago. In London, although experiencing a slowdown in transactions due to a lack of stock, there is a sense of encouragement among both buyers and vendors.

House Prices

The survey’s indicator of house price trends posted a net balance of -43% in November. While still demonstrating a downward trend, this figure represents an improvement from -61%, suggesting a moderation in the pace of house price declines, particularly in several UK regions.

Lettings Market Insights

Tenant Demand

Tenant demand remains positive, although slightly easing compared to previous quarters, this is a seasonal change for this time of year.

Landlord Instructions

Landlord instructions remain on a decline, posting a net balance of -18% in November. Despite this and the modest dip in tenant demand, the lettings market maintains resilient, with projected rental price growth, indicating an ongoing demand-supply dynamic.

For more from the RICS UK Monthly Residential Market survey, you can download and read more 2023 reports here: https://www.rics.org/news-insights/market-surveys/uk-residential-market-survey

Please feel free to reach out to us for personalised advice and assistance in this ever-evolving real estate market.

Regards,

John King, FRICS

Every month the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) releases its UK Residential Market Survey, shedding light on the current state of the housing market across the UK.

This blog post is brought to you by our Chairman & Managing Director, John King, FRICS, who offers valuable insights from his experience here at andrew scott robertson in Wimbledon Village. He actively contributes his comments to the monthly survey for the London region.

KEY OUTTAKES FROM THE FULL RICS RESIDENTIAL MARKET SURVEY FOR OCTOBER; 

Residential Sales Market Insights

Buyer Demand
Despite challenging market conditions, there’s an improvement in new buyer inquiries, This indicates a more optimistic outlook compared to previous months.

Agreed Sales
While the net balance for agreed sales in October still reflects a challenging market (-25%) compared to this time last year, there’s a positive shift from figures recorded in August and September. What is evident is the timeline from agreed sales to legal completion, this has moved out from an average of 13 weeks to over 20 weeks.  A cautious outlook for the remainder of 2023 and early 2024 remains on the cards as the cost of living continues to rise.

New Instructions
The flow of new instructions has begun to slow, as new year aspirations by vendors for a better market takes hold. However, with buyer demand still evident new stock coming to the market now will result in a flow of viewings if valued correctly.

House Prices
In October, the headline indicator on house price trends posted a net balance of -63%, when viewed across the country. Locally a much better picture emerges showing an improvement from previous months indicating between -5 to -10% is the achievement rate when set against current asking prices.

Lettings Market Insights

In the lettings market, tenant demand remains positive, although there’s a slight easing in demand compared to previous quarters. Landlord instructions have declined as rental levels have peaked contributing to a further reduction in listings, due to in part of landlords placing their properties on the market for sale instead.

In conclusion the lettings market has become a positive and safe investment over the years and this will remain to be the case for years to come providing interest rates remain no higher than their current level, this is underpinned by the build to rent market having stalled.

For more from the RICS UK Monthly Residential Market survey, you can download and read more 2023 reports here: https://www.rics.org/news-insights/market-surveys/uk-residential-market-survey

Please feel free to reach out to us for personalised advice and assistance in this ever-evolving real estate market. Find the right team for your needs here.

Regards,

John King, FRICS