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Britain's housing market has entered an unseasonal lull, with estate agents reporting falling buyer inquiries, weakening sales and softening prices during what is typically the busiest period of the year. A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found confidence undermined by higher mortgage rates, geopolitical tensions and political uncertainty, with many agents expecting the slowdown to persist through the summer and beyond. While the downturn has been most acute in London and the South, where prices face growing downward pressure, parts of northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to show modest resilience, highlighting an increasingly stark regional divide in the property market. Tarrant Parsons, head of market analysis at the Rics, said buyers were facing a "challenging environment", with interest rate increases potentially on the horizon as the Bank of England looks to curb inflation. |
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Daily Mail (14/05/2026) Financial Times (14/05/2026) The Guardian (14/05/2026) The Standard (14/05/2026) |