The latest RICS residential market survey points to a sales market that is still quiet — but may be finding its floor.
For those of you who are thinking of buying a home, or more importantly, selling a home, you've probably noticed that the housing market has been a bit sluggish of late.
Part of that is caused by geopolitics, and also by what is happening domestically, with wars creating bottlenecks in the fuel pipelines and forcing prices up and making everything increasingly more expensive. With less money in people's pockets after paying the household bills, much less is available to fund significant financial projects like moving home.
As a result of this lessening demand, sellers are forced to lower their asking price in order to better attract potential buyers. And this is quite noticeable at the moment, although property portal Rightmove suggests that part of this effect is created by the unusually high temperatures in the heatwaves of May, as well as the distraction of the World Cup in North America deflecting people away from thinking about possibly moving house.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) carries out a regular residential market survey taking in respondents from various parts of the property business.
In the latest report, published for May 2026, RICS is slightly more upbeat, suggesting the results of their survey show that activity on the sales market is still quite subdued, but that there are signs that this decline is nevertheless starting to stabilise.
At the same time, RICS notes that the average house price continues to gradually fall. This is bad news for sellers who are looking to maximise the price they receive for their properties. Comparatively, it's good news for buyers, since the dropping prices can be an encouraging sign in bagging a cheaper bargain. It's also worth considering that the gradual reduction in property prices might be the cause of some of the reduction in demand, as buyers wait for prices to drop further before making an offer.
From the property professionals' point of view, the sentiment observed in the RICS survey shows them to be cautious about the next few months, but longer term they expect to see a marginal improvement.
What this means in reality will be proven out in the course of the year, although it is impossible to predict what global and domestic events will impact the housing market and to what degree.
What is known from the history of the property market is that prices will begin to rise again, which means that potential sellers might prefer to hold off from putting their homes on the market. This in itself will reduce the stock of properties available, which economically will push prices up unless potential buyers decide not to look for a purchase just yet.
For buyers, if they can afford to wait and bet on prices continuing to drop they might find a better bargain. However, it's all extra stress, especially if you need to move, for example for a new job.
And, who knows, once the World Cup is over, maybe interest in the housing market will increase once again.
Ready to move? Get your conveyancing sorted now
Whatever your plans, whether you're selling up or buying a new place, you'll need effective legal representation to ensure the legal side of things is handled as quickly and efficiently as possible, with the expertise to protect you throughout the transaction. This is why you should talk to Homeward Legal as soon as possible to get things moving.
Our conveyancers will start work on your plans as soon as you agree to the quotation and appoint them to represent you. Call us now on to get your conveyancing quote started, or use Homeward Legal's easy-to-use quote generator.