RICS July survey: new buyer enquiries at -28% but twelve-month price expectations turn positive at +4%

RICS's July residential survey, published on 13 August, put new buyer enquiries at a net balance of -28% — still negative but up from -41% in March — while agreed sales held at -30% and the national house-price balance edged from -32% to -30%. The drag is affordability and caution rather than any single shock, but surveyors grew more optimistic on the year ahead, with twelve-month price expectations at +4% and sales expectations improving for a fourth straight month. For buyers, negotiating leverage is holding for now; for sellers, it argues for realistic asking prices rather than betting on a quick rebound. This is sentiment firming at the margin, not a market turning — current activity remains subdued.