Is it a good time to buy a home?

When you are thinking of buying a home, there can be an awful lot of information to read about the current state of the market, with various experts and authorities offering a picture that might appear to be conflicting with each other. However, each of them is looking at different financial models and assessing what the data in that pool of information depicts, adding their interpretation of what might be happening now and predicting what the next few months to a year might indicate.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which sets the professional standards and guidelines that each of our chartered surveyors at Surveyor Local follows, is slightly different in its approach to the matter. It monitors the market to track what is happening with buyer demand and agreed sales to assess what is happening with the general market, using information from surveys of several RICS professionals for their perceptions and insights. It also looks at landlord instructions to measure the state of the rental market for any comparison and correlation for the broader housing market.

On 14 August, RICS issued its UK Residential Survey for July 2025, which indicates:

After a more prosperous period, both the data for buyer demand and agreed sales show they have fallen back into negative territory. For the rental market, the number of landlord instructions has weakened to its lowest position in five years. At the national level, house prices have generally edged lower. In the near-term, RICS predicts that the sales outlook is looking flat.

The somewhat negative view of the data comes in response to the previous more positive signs of housing market recovery having become less certain.

Buyer demand

In comparison with the figures for June, the balance for new buyer enquiries has dampened to -6% (from a figure of +4% for the previous month). RICS points out that, because this is a UK figure, care should be taken when it comes to the regional variations, where the weaker trends are most noticeable, for instance, in East Anglia, the South-East and the South-West.

Agreed sales

The net balance of agreed sales showed a significant drop of -16% in July in comparison with the previous month, which stood at -4%. The respondents to the RICS survey indicate the general feeling that the market will be flatter in the near-term, while they registered a greater sense of positivity about the position in the market for 12 months' time.

Supply changes

For the seller, it's more positive news with 9% of the RICS survey respondents confirming an increase in the number of homes coming up for sale.

House prices

The respondents also noted a general weakening in the house prices set for sale. Again, regional variations need to be considered, with prices rising in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the North-West of England; on the opposite side of that equation, it's noted that prices are falling in the East Anglia region.

Rental market

RICS notes that demand from tenants has kept steady according to the survey results, but there is a firmly negative trend in landlord instructions (which is the action of a landlord putting up their property for rental), with the figures showing to be the weakest since April 2020. As a result of the lack of rental property supply, it is envisaged that rental prices will continue to rise over the next three months.

As Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, comments:

"The somewhat flatter tone to the feedback to the July RICS Residential Survey highlights ongoing challenges facing the housing market. Although interest rates were lowered at the latest Bank of England meeting, the split vote has raised doubts about both the timing and extent of further reductions. Meanwhile, uncertainty about the potential contents of the Chancellor's autumn budget is also raising some concerns. Against this backdrop, respondents continue to report that the market remains particularly price sensitive at the present time."

• Buyer demand has turned negative (-6%) after positive June figures
• Sales activity is declining significantly (-16% in July)
• House prices are generally weakening across most regions
• More properties coming to market (+9% supply increase)
• Rental market remains tight with rising prices expected
• Market is highly price sensitive due to economic uncertainty

Buying a home can be a very stressful time, which is why you need to make sure that you know what you are getting for your money. That's why it is so important to take out a suitable survey, performed by an accredited chartered surveyor with a broad and deep experience of the type of property you want to buy - it gives you that peace of mind that you are paying the right price for the condition of the property.

Surveyor Local connects you to professional chartered surveyors who are RICS members, ensuring your survey is always professionally delivered. Call to get your no-obligation survey quote, or use our online quote generator.