Buyer demand, sales activity and new instructions have all fallen further into negative territory according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey for October 2025.

New buyer enquiries saw a 3% fall from September 2025, with a net balance of -24%, whilst agreed sales remained subdued and were 7% down from the -17% recorded the previous month.

Tarrant Parsons, RICS Head of Market Research and Analysis, said: “The housing market continued to show weakness in October, with activity levels drifting lower amid a lack of buyer confidence. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding potential measures in the upcoming Budget are thought to be compounding the cautious mood among both buyers and sellers, while above target inflation and rising unemployment are also a negative for the market.

“The coming months will be crucial in assessing how the market responds to the Budget, which could prove a turning point in either direction. Greater clarity over housing taxation policy may help stabilise sentiment, but if the measures announced add further pressure to activity, they risk deepening the current slowdown.”

Tenant demand has flattened to a -4% net balance; however, landlord instructions continue to fall (-33%), reaching their weakest result since April 2020.