Covid-19: Agents’ view of the market– Improvement in overall sentiment
In this short article we look at a review over the last 3 months of agents reporting numbers of new buyers registering, new instructions coming to market, new sales being agreed, price expectations and sales expectations
- The May Sentiment Survey by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) gauging the mood of agents, showed improvement in overall sentiment, mirroring the Dataloft Demand Index.
- The sales market measured by new instructions, new buyer enquiries and newly agreed sales, shows improved sentiment in May following a large decline during lockdown.
- Price expectations have improved since March but agents still expect falls over the next 12 months. Sales expectations turned almost neutral in May, and agents expect sales to pick up in the next 12 months.
- The RICS survey did not report any meaningful changes to activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, these results show what is to be expected when the residential market reopens.