UK house prices showed the most widespread falls in more than a year-and-a-half

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ house price
balance, measures the difference between the percentage of
surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices,

• RICS August house price balance fell to -19 from -13 in July, weakest since Jan 2024 and below economists’ forecast of -10.

• New buyer enquiries dropped to -17 (from -7), lowest since May; agreed sales slid to -24 (from -17).

• Weak growth, high inflation (3.8% in July, BoE sees 4% peak in Sept) and uncertain rate outlook weigh on sentiment.

• RICS said the housing market is clearly being hit by ongoing uncertainty over growth, inflation, and rates.

• Rental market: Tenant demand strong, but landlord instructions dropped sharply (-37%, steepest since April 2020), keeping supply tight. Rents expected to rise further (+27% balance for next 3 months).

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.