The latest in-depth industry survey of what's going on in the housing market has dropped from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – and it may make gritty reading for estate agents in search of a warm spring.

With data on new buyer enquiries and agreed sales tipping slightly into the negative, house prices continue to rise overall when viewed nationally. But the RICS UK Residential Property February 2025 report suggests momentum is waning ahead of changes to stamp duty threshold which are already impacting decisions.

Near-term expectations, the RICS said, point to a further softening in the months ahead, while demand in lettings demand dipped again in February against a backdrop of a hastening reduction of available rentals - which in turn is exerting upward pressure on rent prices.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said: "The UK housing market appears to be losing some momentum as the expiry of the temporary increase in stamp duty thresholds approaches. Some concerns are also being expressed by respondents about the re-emergence of inflationary pressures and the more uncertain geopolitical environment. That said, looking beyond the next few months, sales activity is seen as likely to resume an upward trend with prices also moving higher."

He added: "A key support for the market continues to be the increased flow of existing stock becoming available, giving buyers a greater choice of options. However, leading indicators around new build remain subdued for now, highlighting the significance of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduced to Parliament this week.

"Meanwhile, despite a flatter trend in demand for private rental properties, the key RICS metric capturing rental expectations is still pointing to further increases demonstrating that the challenge around supply spans all tenures."

In detail, several factors are behind the February findings released today. At the head of the list, buyer demand weakened, posting a net balance reading of -14%. This was down from -1% in January and marked the weakest result for the survey's gauge of buyer demand since November 2023.

Stamp Duty changes from April 1 were meanwhile detected as a factor. With the threshold dropping from £250,000 to £125,000, the move is expected to weaken market activity, the report said, adding "it is believed that this is increasingly influencing the slowdown as deadline approaches".

In addition, although the return of Donald Trump  is not specifically cited, the report added that "geopolitical and international economic uncertainties contribute to a less favourable climate for the housing sector".

The RICS added: "Despite these challenges, house prices at a national level continue to rise overall, albeit at a subdued rate. The latest net balance came for price growth came in at +11%, which remains consistent with a subtle upturn in prices. However, this series has now moderated in each of the last two months, easing from +25% and +21% in December and January, respectively."

Industry stakeholders also told the RICS that while the recent interest rate cut by the Bank of England was welcomed, there is an appetite for the bank to go further: "Looking to the future, whilst the market is expected to continue to soften in the short-term, most respondents believe that house prices will rise over the next twelve months. Indeed, the net balance for the year-ahead price expectations series sits at +47%, broadly in-line with the average reading posted over the past six months."

In the lettings market, tenant demand recorded a figure slightly below zero for a fourth month in a row, returning a net balance of -4% in February. Consequently, this marks the longest stretch without a positive reading for this indicator since the monthly (non-seasonally adjusted) lettings dataset was established in 2012.

The RICS said the data points to a broadly stagnant trend, rather than "an abrupt downturn".

Alongside this, landlord instructions continue to show negative momentum, registering a net balance of -22%.

Despite the subdued demand backdrop, a net balance of +34% of survey participants foresee rental prices rising over the coming three months: "Whilst demand is down, supply appears to be reducing at a faster rate, likely causing further rental price rises".

● Collated on professional input, the RICS UK Residential Market Survey is used by the government, the Bank of England and the IMF as an indicator of current and future conditions in UK residential sales and lettings.