A recent survey in England and Wales showed a continued decline in house prices in September as well as a nation-wide decline in the number of sales for the first time in almost a year.

House prices have been falling for 16 consecutive months and fell by 0.3% in September following a difficult August. The average British home lost £594 in value in September alone according to the latest LSL Property Services/Acadametrics House Price Index.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) outlined a stationary housing market saying that homeowners are reluctant to sell and are pulling their home sales because of the current economic outlook might force them to drop their prices.

The seasonally adjusted house price balance calculated by RICS remained at -23 in September, one point higher than the figure expected by analysts but still indicative of a weak housing market.

The latest RICS UK Housing Market survey (11 October 2023) showed the balance for newly agreed sales falling to -4 from +2 in August and new vendor instructions also declining to -5 from -1 while new buyer enquiries rose to +3 from -2.

Members of RICS said that house prices are expected to continue their decline in the coming months while mortgage rates will remain relatively low.

Tom McClelland of RICS said houses were selling “at prices not seen for seven or eight years” and that “sellers who understand and accept where the market is are being successful and are finding buyers.”

RICS spokesman Michael Newey commented on the situation:

“Generally speaking, while it is hard to see what will give the market a lift in the near term, the announcement of a further raft of quantitative easing from the Bank of England will help to at least keep mortgage rates down. This, if nothing else, should ease the pressure on existing homeowners and limit the risk of a material pick-up in repossessions”.