The housing market continues to lack impetus, with new buyer enquiries and agreed sales stagnant in March. The number of properties coming on to the market also continued to fall, according to the March 2017 RICS UK Residential Market Survey, and respondents have also reduced predictions for sales growth in the year ahead.

New buyer enquiries were reported to be flat for a third successive month in March, and although the picture remains mixed across the UK, the areas with declining buyer interest outweigh those with increasing demand. The strongest growth in new buyer enquiries was seen in Northern Ireland and the South West (+34 and +22 net balances respectively), and on a bright note for London, buyer interest has been increasing modestly over the last four months (+9 net balance in March).

New instructions to sell fell noticeably with 13% more respondents seeing a fall in fresh listing rather than a rise over the month. Stock on estate agents books has consequently dipped to a new record low with branches (on average) now holding only 43 unsold properties.