Number of would-be homebuyers falls to 8-month low as UK economic anxiety deepens

Survey of estate agents reports growing reluctance among potential homebuyers to make a purchase

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The steep rise in mortgage interest rates and anxiety about the prospect of an economic downturn sent new house buyer inquiries to an eight-month low in June, according to a survey of estate agents.

A fall in the number of buyers marked a renewed deterioration in UK home sales", said the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which carried out the survey. However, the market was in better shape than the period after Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget last autumn.