RICS Residential Market Survey April 2024

Key Takeaways

Buyer enquiries and agreed sales

The April 2024 RICS UK Residential Survey shows a slight stutter in the recent recovery in buyer demand, possibly due to an upward move in mortgage rates.
The headline net balance for new buyer enquiries softened to -1% in April, ending a three-month positive trend, with the loss of impetus mainly concentrated in London and Southern parts of England.
Agreed sales improved slightly in April, with a net balance reading of +5%, marking the most positive reading since early 2021, but still indicating only a marginal uptick in monthly sales volumes.

New instructions

Near-term sales expectations dipped to -1%, the weakest reading since October 2023, possibly due to financial markets paring back expectations around monetary policy loosening.
Nevertheless, respondents foresee a stronger trend in sales activity over the twelve-month horizon, albeit with more moderate expectations compared to last month (net balance +33% vs +46%).
Supply available on the market increased, with a net balance of +23% noting a rise in new instructions, the most elevated figure since late 2020, and average stock levels reaching a three-year high.

House Prices

House prices remained largely stable at the aggregate level, with virtually all parts of England showing flat or marginally negative readings, while Northern Ireland and Scotland continued to see upward trends.

Outlook

Near-term sentiment around house price outlook turned more cautious, with a three-month expectations net balance slipping to -13%, but twelve-month expectations remained consistent with house prices returning to growth at the aggregate level (net balance +38%).

Rental market

In the lettings market, tenant demand growth lost momentum, with a net balance of +12% reporting a rise in the three months to April, marking the least positive value since April 2020.
Landlord instructions remained in short supply, with a net balance of -13%, indicating a weak picture, while rents are still expected to rise in the near term, although at a three-year low for rental growth expectations (net balance +33%).