Housing market activity continued to rise in August, as those looking to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday continued their search for a new home. A net balance of 63% of respondents reported an increase in buyer interest over the month, according to the August 2020 RICS UK Residential Survey. However, the longer-term view remains more cautious.

Meanwhile, the pandemic is expected to cause a lasting shift in the desirability of certain property characteristics, as 83% of respondents anticipate demand increasing for homes with gardens over the next two years. 79% predict rising demand for those properties near green space, while a net balance of +68% foresee a rise in the desirability of properties with more private/less communal outside space.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, commented: “The latest RICS survey provides firm evidence of a strong uplift in activity in the housing market. More of a concern is the pick-up in prices which could intensify issues around affordability in some parts of the country. Meanwhile, the results provide a further pointer to more substantive changes taking place in household behaviour in the wake of the pandemic. Increased demand for properties with garden and near green spaces has if anything increased since we tested the water in May.”

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} </style> span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Housing market activity continued to rise in August, as those looking to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday continued their search for a new home. A net balance of 63% of respondents reported an increase in buyer interest over the month, according to the August 2020 RICS UK Residential Survey. However, the longer-term view remains more cautious.

span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Meanwhile, the pandemic is expected to cause a lasting shift in the desirability of certain property characteristics, as 83% of respondents anticipate demand increasing for homes with gardens over the next two years. 79% predict rising demand for those properties near green space, while a net balance of +68% foresee a rise in the desirability of properties with more private/less communal outside space.

strong>span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, commented: “The latest RICS survey provides firm evidence of a strong uplift in activity in the housing market. More of a concern is the pick-up in prices which could intensify issues around affordability in some parts of the country. Meanwhile, the results provide a further pointer to more substantive changes taking place in household behaviour in the wake of the pandemic. Increased demand for properties with garden and near green spaces has if anything increased since we tested the water in May.”