RICS UK Residential Market Survey - Precise comments

13 August 2026

Emily Hollands, Group Head of Intermediary Sales and Distribution, Precise:

"Today's RICS data showing buyer sentiment still under pressure, with new buyer enquiries at -28% and agreed sales at -30%, is disappointing but not surprising, and the timing matters. This survey captures a month in which mortgage pricing moved the wrong way for borrowers, with swap rates rising sharply through July as geopolitical tensions fed into funding costs. Readings taken in that environment were always likely to be subdued, and should be read with that context attached.

What the data shows is hesitation rather than absence. The need to move home or buy a first property has not gone away, what has changed is how sensitive those decisions have become to short-term movements in cost. The supply side deserves equal attention too. New instructions coming onto the market have flattened out at -4%, and with market appraisals still running below the same period last year, the pipeline of fresh stock remains tight. For buyers who have already found a property and secured an offer, a constrained pipeline behind them adds to the risk of chains becoming fragile before completion.

It is also worth looking into the regional figures, London, the South East and the South West remain considerably more subdued than Northern Ireland and Scotland. Borrowers in stronger regions shouldn't be discouraged by a headline that doesn't reflect their market.

The question now is not whether demand exists, but whether advice and the transaction process evolve quickly enough to support it."