# House sales outlook hits three-year low as mortgage rates soar

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/house-sales-outlook-hits-three-year-low-as-mortgage-rates-soar/
- Published: 2026-11-12T05:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T06:21:37+00:00
- Original publisher: City AM (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.cityam.com/house-sales-outlook-hits-three-year-low-as-mortgage-rates-soar/
- Topics: Business, UK, World

## Key points

- UK home sales outlook is at its weakest since July 2023.
- Buyer demand is falling or stagnant across nearly all regions.
- Higher mortgage rates are weighing on sales and prices.

## Summary

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the outlook for UK home sales has fallen to its most pessimistic level since July 2023, as higher mortgage rates weigh on buyer demand. It matters because survey respondents expect both sales activity and house prices to weaken over the next year, signalling a further cooling of the property market.

In October, new buyer enquiries were broadly unchanged from September, but demand was falling or stagnant in nearly all parts of the UK and agreed sales dropped to a three-month low. London, East Anglia, the West Midlands and the South East reported weaker price trends than the national average. RICS linked the pressure to persistent economic challenges and elevated borrowing costs, while a Knight Frank researcher pointed to the energy price shock and the influence of the Middle East conflict on mortgage rates.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.