Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.
RICS: Housing Market Downturn Slows, Tenant Demand Rises in June
Activity in the UK housing market remained muted in June, but the recent monthly decline has stabilised, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Market Survey. The report found that while new buyer enquiries and sales activity stayed negative, both indicators showed slight improvements compared to previous months.
Surveyors recorded a score of negative 29% for new buyer activity in June, an improvement from negative 34% in the last two months and the least negative reading since February. Newly agreed sales remained relatively flat, moving from negative 35% in the previous survey to negative 32% in June. Surveyors’ expectations for sales over the next three months also improved, with a score of negative 16%, up from negative 34% in March. Over the longer term, respondents expect sales volumes to stay flat, with a reading of 1%.
However, the number of new instructions fell in June, with the score dropping from negative 10% to negative 23%, marking the weakest reading in over a year. There was also a decline in market appraisals, suggesting that the pipeline of homes coming to market could be lower in the coming months.
Surveyors continued to predict slight falls in house prices, with some regions such as the South West and South East of England expected to see more negative price trends. House price growth is expected to remain muted in the near term, with modest improvement anticipated over the next 12 months.
For letting agents and inventory clerks, the survey highlighted a rise in tenant demand, with a reading of 18%—the strongest since May 2025. However, landlord instructions remained negative, further contributing to the supply-demand imbalance in the rental market. Surveyors expect this imbalance to put upward pressure on rents.
Source: Mortgage Solutions