Buyer demand across the Welsh housing market fell in September, with surveyors also reporting fewer agreed sales and falling prices, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey.
A net balance of -49% of respondents in Wales reported a fall in new buyer enquiries, the lowest this measure has been since November 2025.
RICS said the rise in mortgage rates appears to be weighing on the sales and pricing outlook.
On the supply side, a net balance of -4% of respondents reported that new instructions to sell had fallen, down from 18% in the August report. A net balance of -13% reported that newly agreed sales had fallen through September.
On pricing, a net balance of -15% of Welsh surveyors reported that prices had declined over the past three months, down from 9% in the previous survey.
Surveyors remain cautious about the coming months. A net balance of -10% of respondents in Wales expect house prices to fall over the next three months, and a net balance of -10% expect sales to fall through the final quarter of the year.
Anthony Filice FRICS of Kelvin Francis Ltd. in Cardiff said sales were still happening: “Buyers, though lower in numbers, seem confident in their investment, although they are making lower offers.”
David James FRICS of James Dean in Brecon said: “There are still plenty of sales happening, even though it feels a tougher market.”
Commenting on the UK picture, RICS Head of Market Research and Analysis Tarrant Parsons said: “A renewed rise in interest rate expectations has created a fresh headwind for the housing market, with buyers becoming a little more cautious and sales activity losing some momentum this month. Even so, the latest results do not point to any significant shift in direction. Rather, they suggest the market may need to contend with a somewhat longer period of subdued activity as households adjust to the prospect of borrowing costs remaining higher than previously anticipated.”
A net balance is the proportion of respondents reporting a rise minus those reporting a fall. The figures are opinion-based and do not measure actual changes.
