Sentiment about the direction of U.K. home prices plunged to its lowest point in six years in October.
A majority of surveyed real estate professionals reported declining prices in the three months through October, the most negative the reading has been since 2012, according to the report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. The sentiment survey was based on more than 300 responses relating to the work of 576 firm branches.
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While the overall picture is negative, buyers and sellers across the U.K. are dealing with highly localized market conditions from one region to the next.
One of the toughest markets for sellers is in London and the South East, where they must compete for a shrinking number of buyers with larger discounts.
"The gap between the asking price and offers received has widened even with recent price reductions," J.J. King of London-based brokerage Andrew Scott Robertson said in the survey.
By contrast, homeowners in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English Midlands have watched their property values rise steadily over the past year, driven by a lack of inventory and more robust demand.
The October survey rebukes other reports of more buyers house hunting but waiting to buy as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union. The number of real estate professionals who reported new buyer inquiries ticked down slightly in October, the third month in a row of deteriorating demand.
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"A sustained softening in demand over recent months has likely driven the weaker price trends in parts of the country," RICS reported. "Affordability pressures, political uncertainty and a lack of fresh stock coming onto the market all continue to hinder activity to varying degrees."
Sales were flat or declining in 11 out of the 12 regions broken out in the report, the only exception being East Anglia, an area northeast of London.