NEW research has shown that activity from new buyers and the number of new homes coming onto Scotland’s housing market were both lower in August.
The findings are revealed in the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey
A net balance of -68% of Scottish surveyors reported new buyer enquiries declined, which is the lowest this balance has been in several years. New supply also fell further into negative territory, with a net balance of -47% of Scottish respondents noting a fall in new instructions to sell, which is the lowest this balance has been since late 2022. A net balance of -47% of respondents in Scotland reported a fall in newly agreed sales.
More positively, a net balance of 13% of respondents expect sales to rise over the next three months. And on the pricing front, a net balance of 5% of respondents report house prices rose in the August survey.
On the sales market, survey respondent Grant Robertson FRICS of Allied Surveyors Scotland Plc in Glasgow said, “The market is slowing sharply with established property chains falling though and resales establishing at lower levels. Whether this is a post summer blues or more likely a slowdown tied to challenging mortgage rates and tax levels remains to be seen.”
Regarding the rental market, Ian Morton MRICS of Bradburne & Co in St Andrews added, “The rental market is generally buoyant with demand outstripping supply in some sectors.”
Commenting on the UK picture, Tarrant Parsons, RICS head of market research and analysis, said, “The Bank of England’s increasingly hawkish tone, on the back of renewed volatility in global energy markets, is a reminder that the borrowing cost outlook could yet deteriorate further. And with the October Budget approaching, speculation over potential changes to property taxation is adding another source of caution for both buyers and sellers. As such, headwinds over the shorter term remain pronounced, even though recent market trends have appeared more stable.”
