More sellers joined the queue in July. Buyers didn’t.
If you’re thinking of putting your house on the market in South Wales this autumn, there’s one number worth knowing first: you are about to have a lot more competition, and there aren’t any more buyers to go round.
That comes from the July RICS Residential Market Survey — the monthly survey of chartered surveyors and valuers working in the market — reported for Wales by Wales 247. Three findings stand out.
- New instructions to sell jumped. A net balance of +17% of Welsh surveyors saw more homes coming onto the market — a sharp turnaround from -39% the month before.
- Buyer enquiries were flat. No pickup in demand at all.
- Agreed sales were flat too, at a net balance of -1%.
More stock, the same buyers, the same number of sales. That’s the whole story in one line.
A quick note on “net balance”: it isn’t a percentage rise or fall in prices or listings. It’s the share of surveyors reporting an increase minus the share reporting a decrease. So +17% means clearly more surveyors saw listings rise than fall — it doesn’t mean listings rose 17%. It’s a direction-of-travel measure, and right now the direction is what matters.
What “more supply, flat demand” does to your sale
It’s simple supply and demand, and it plays out in ways sellers feel personally.
Fewer viewings per listing. The same pool of buyers is now spread across more homes. Your listing gets a smaller share of the attention it would have had in June.
Longer time on the market. A typical estate agent sale in South Wales runs 6 to 12 months from listing to completion in a normal market. When supply climbs and demand doesn’t, that stretches, not shortens.
More pressure on price. When a buyer has three similar houses to choose from instead of one, they don’t need to stretch — and they know it. The “conversation about price” comes sooner, and it only goes one way.
Homes that need work fall furthest behind. In a busy market, buyers with a choice pick the one that’s ready. If yours needs a roof, a rewire, a new kitchen — or it’s simply tired — it gets skipped, no matter how it’s priced.
Prices are falling — and surveyors expect them to keep falling
Welsh surveyors reported house prices falling over the three months to July, at a net balance of -4%.
More telling is what they expect next. Looking ahead three months, a net balance of -16% of Welsh surveyors expect prices to fall further. These are the professionals who value these homes for a living, and their outlook for the autumn points down.
RICS’ chief economist summed up the UK picture bluntly: “The housing market remains subdued,” pointing to mortgage costs and political uncertainty weighing on confidence.
For a seller, the practical translation is uncomfortable. Waiting isn’t a free option. If you list now and it takes six months, you’re selling into a market that the professionals valuing these homes expect to be softer than today’s — while you carry the mortgage, the council tax, the insurance and the upkeep for every one of those months.
Where the extra listings are coming from
Part of the answer is in the same survey. A Cardiff surveyor quoted in the Wales 247 report flagged rental stock shrinking as private landlords keep leaving the sector, which is holding rents high.
That matches what we’re seeing on the ground. Landlords have been squeezed from several directions at once — Section 24 mortgage interest relief, higher borrowing costs, and tightening rental regulation — and many are choosing to get out. When landlords exit in numbers, their properties land on the same sales market as everyone else’s, adding to the supply that owner-occupiers are now competing with.
If you’re a landlord reading this, you’re not just deciding whether to sell. You’re deciding whether to sell before or after everyone else does.
What you can actually do about it
Three honest options, and the right one depends on your situation.
1. List, and price it to move now — not later. If you have time and your house shows well, the open market can still deliver the highest figure. But price it against what’s coming onto the market this month, not what your neighbour got last year. The sellers who do badly in a rising-supply market are the ones who start high, sit for three months, and cut anyway.
2. Spend on presentation first. Decluttering, decorating, fixing the obvious. It works — but it costs money and weeks up front, and you’re still exposed to the wait and the fall-through risk at the end of it.
3. Sell directly, and take the certainty instead. If the wait itself is the problem, the trade is speed and certainty in exchange for a figure below full market value.
Where we come in
We’re House Buyers Wales — a small local business run by David & Jason, who between them have over 30 years buying property across South Wales. We’re not an agent listing your house and hoping. We’re the buyer.
- A genuine offer, fast. Usually within a day, with no obligation.
- No chain, no mortgage, no lender. Nothing to collapse at the last minute, and no survey used to renegotiate you down.
- You choose the completion date. As quick as 7 to 28 days, or later if you need the time. Our record is five days.
- No fees, no commission. We cover the legal costs, including yours. The figure we agree is the figure you keep.
- The offer doesn’t change. We don’t wait until you’re committed and then start chipping away at it.
We’ll be straight with you about the trade-off: a direct sale is below full open-market value, because what you’re buying is certainty and a date. In a market where listings are climbing and surveyors expect prices to fall again, that trade looks very different than it did last spring.
Is the open market still right for you?
Sometimes, yes — and we’ll tell you if it is. If your home is in good order, you’re not in a chain, and you can genuinely wait as long as it takes, an estate agent may still land you a higher final figure.
But it’s worth a call if:
- You need a definite sale by a definite date.
- Your house has already been listed for months without a firm offer.
- The property needs work you can’t fund or face.
- You’re a landlord who wants out before the rest of the market gets there.
- You simply can’t afford for a sale to fall through.
The bottom line
July’s figures describe a market tilting towards buyers in Wales: more homes listed, no more demand, and surveyors expecting prices to soften again by the autumn. If you have time on your side, you can wait it out. If you don’t, waiting is the expensive option.
House Buyers Wales are South Wales’ #1 Trusted Property Cash Buyers — rated 5 stars on Google by hundreds of real home sellers.
Don’t take our word for it: Read real customer reviews for House Buyers Wales →
Get your free cash offer → — 30 second enquiry form, no commitment, no pressure.
Or call 02920 001331 to speak to David or Jason directly.
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