The slump in the Scottish housing market looks set to continue as the ongoing Brexit uncertainty takes its toll on buyers, surveyors have warned.

The UK Residential Market Survey March 2019 from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the market was still subdued in March, a picture that has been evident in the sales market for several months now, with the lack of momentum likely to continue for the short term.

In March, enquiries from new buyers in Scotland were in negative territory, with a net balance of -9 per cent more respondents seeing a fall rather than rise in buyer demand. Demand fell across all parts of the UK in March. As buyer interest declined, a net balance of -24 per cent of respondents reported a fall in agreed sales at the headline level across the UK in March, with Scottish sales remaining flat.

The ongoing decline in new property coming on to the Scottish market continues, having become progressively weaker in each of the past four surveys, falling from the net balance of -15 per cent in December 2018, to -24 per cent in March 2019. Demand from potential buyers has consistently outpaced new instructions across Scotland for several years now.

Consequently, prices remained firm in March, with 20 per cent of respondents reporting a rise in house prices across Scotland.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “Brexit remains a major drag on activity in the market with anecdotal evidence pointing to potential buyers being reluctant to commit in the face of the heightened sense of uncertainty.

“Whether any deal provides the shift in mood music envisaged by many respondents to the survey remains to be seen but as things stand, there is little encouragement to be drawn from key RICS lead indicators. We expect transactions to decline on this basis.

“Arguably more significant still are the signs that developers are continuing to adopt a more cautious stance with the trend in new residential starts now flatlining. Against this backdrop, there is little possibility of delivering the uplift in supply necessary to address the ongoing housing crisis.”