RICS Residential Market Survey September 2025

Key takeaways

Sales market remains subdued

New buyer enquiries declined for a third consecutive month, with the net balance falling to -19% (vs -18% in August), confirming that buyer demand continues to lose traction.
Agreed sales remained in negative territory at -16%, a slight improvement on -24% last month but still signalling a softening in transactions.
Near-term sales expectations edged lower to -9% (from -4%), while the 12-month outlook also turned negative at -9%, the weakest since August 2023, indicating little confidence in a sales rebound.

Supply indicators contract after earlier stability

New vendor instructions slipped further to -15%, marking the second successive monthly decline and ending a 13-month stretch of positive readings.
Market appraisals also fell sharply to -24% (vs -7% in August), suggesting fewer potential listings compared with last year.

House prices continue to edge lower

The national house price balance remained negative at -15% (vs -18% in August), indicating a continued, though modest, downward drift in prices.
The downturn was most pronounced in the South East (-43%) and East Anglia (-38%), while Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to see price growth.
Short-term price expectations deteriorated further to -21%, implying additional near-term pressure, but sentiment turns positive over the year ahead, with 12% expecting prices to rise.

Rental market still constrained by falling landlord supply

Tenant demand was broadly unchanged in September (-1%), showing a steadier trend after recent gains.
Landlord instructions dropped sharply to -38%, the lowest since May 2020, underscoring persistent supply shortages.
Despite this, rental growth expectations remain firm, with 23% anticipating higher rents over the next three months and average increases of around 3% projected for the next year.