Confidence weakened in February, with the RICS UK Residential Market Survey blaming geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.<\/p>\n
There are also concerns over inflation and interest rates.<\/p>\n
New buyer enquiries worsened by a net -26%, worse than a net -15% in January.<\/p>\n
Tarrant Parsons, RICS head of market research & analytics, said: \u201cFebruary\u2019s survey highlights renewed volatility in the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile activity indicators at the start of the year suggested a tentative improvement, the deterioration in the geopolitical backdrop has clearly weighed on confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent rise in oil and energy prices has also increased the likelihood that mortgage rates will remain higher for longer. As a result, near-term expectations have softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough the 12-month outlook remains positive overall, maintaining that trajectory will depend on the recent spike in inflationary pressures easing in the months ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Agreed sales were also subdued, with a net balance of -12%, while near-term sales expectations softened to -2%.<\/p>\n
People are more positive looking further into the future, as a net +17% expected sales activity to rise over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
Regional divergence remains pronounced.<\/p>\n
London (-40%), the South East (-24%) and East Anglia (-26%) are seeing the most downward pressure on sales, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North West of England are still reporting firmer price trends.<\/p>\n
Tim Green FRICS of Green & Co.(Oxford) Ltd, said: \u201cThe best early sign of activity in 2026 is the increased number of properties coming to the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recovery is likely to be led from the first-time buyer range, but despite a few green shoots, Spring has not quite arrived yet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Confidence weakened in February, with the RICS UK Residential Market Survey blaming geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. There are also concerns over inflation and interest rates. New buyer enquiries worsened by a net -26%, worse than a net -15% in January. Tarrant Parsons, RICS head of market research & analytics, said: \u201cFebruary\u2019s survey highlights renewed volatility […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-home"],"yoast_head":"\n