Buyer enquiries up and time to exchange down, as market confidence ‘trends upwards’
Propertymark’s survey of 100 estate agents across the UK has found a large increase in the number of prospective buyers in March, up to an average of 113 per member branch from 81 in February. The number of homes placed for sale per member branch also increased, up from 10.7 to an average of 13.5. […]
‘New instructions flat, but improvements on the horizon’ – RICS
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the UK housing market is showing ‘further signs of strain’, as the organisation’s April Residential Market Survey reveals another drop in buyer enquiries and agreed sales. However, the institution acknowledged the dip could be attributed to SDLT changes, and the longer-term outlook is more promising. The report showed […]
Slight rise in house prices ‘sign of confidence in market’, with affordability expected to improve
A 0.3% increase in house prices, as reported in the April Halifax House Price Index, is a sign of sustained confidence that offers good news for buyers, experts say. The average property price is now £297,781, compared to £296,899 the previous month, with an annual growth rate of 3.2%, up from 2.9% in March. Commenting […]
Silver lining for first time buyers, as Yopa finds improvement in ‘affordability ratio’
An analysis by Yopa suggests that first time buyer affordability is at the best level in 10 years, which the estate agency says has been driven by an increase in average annual earnings. This is despite the fact that the average price of a first home has increased by 63% in the last decade, whilst […]
March saw increase of £9.7 billion in mortgage debt, fears of ‘stagnant’ market to come
The rush to beat the SDLT deadline triggered a sharp incline in mortgage debt, with the latest Bank of England money and credit statistics revealing a £9.7 billion increase in March. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, decreased for the third consecutive month, with a fall of 800 to 64,300 […]
Over 60s control over half of all UK owner-occupier housing wealth, under 35s have 6%
Owner-occupiers aged 60 and over now hold a record estimated £2.89 trillion of net housing wealth in homes – more than half of all owner-occupier wealth in the UK – according to the latest assessment of housing wealth from property firm Savills. Those over 75 control almost a quarter (23%), with under 35s owning just […]
‘Buyer demand weakens but affordability boost likely’ – Zoopla
Zoopla’s April House Price Index finds cooling demand and expanded supply, but notes that the relaxation of mortgage affordability rules could boost buying power by up to 20%. Although buyer demand has cooled since the stamp duty changes, it remains 1% higher than this time last year. The number of homes for sale has risen […]
March transaction numbers ‘foundation for growth’ but capacity could be an issue
The impact of the SDLT deadline on 31st March was evident in the latest figures from HMRC which showed sizeable uplifts in transactions from February 2025 and March 2024. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March is 177,370, which is 104% higher than March 2024 and 62% higher than February 2025. […]
Two million first time buyers ‘missing from the housing market’
A new report from the Building Societies Association (BSA) suggests that a significant number of potential first-time buyers have failed to get on the property ladder since the financial crisis. BSA analysis of historic first-time buyer data shows that around 7.2 million individuals or couples would have been expected to buy their first home since […]
‘Millions in limbo over mortgage rates’ with first-time buyers the most pessimistic
Data from the HomeOwners Alliance reveals ‘deep uncertainty’ about the future of mortgage rates, with 37% of people polled expecting rates to go up within the next year. In the survey of 2000 adults, 25% said they believed rates would hold, 16% thought they would fall, and 22% said they didn’t know what would happen. […]
Rural Wales sees largest increase in Land Registry applications
An analysis of HM Land Registry transaction data has revealed Powys as the area with the largest increase in property applications to the registry in 2024. The rural mid-Wales county saw a 25.2% increase in applications, followed by Bedford with 17.3%, Hounslow in West London at 11.2%, and Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire increasing by […]
‘Soaring demand’ for shared ownership behind Just Mortgages’ growth
The national broker Just Mortgages is expanding to meet what it calls a ‘soaring demand’ for shared ownership schemes. The firm’s specialist new build division has more than doubled to meet demand in the last three years, growing from 16 to 34 dedicated new build advisers. After a continued escalation in the number of shared […]
Twenty7tec sees surge in buy-to-let demand, with March mortgage searches at record high
Financial tech platform Twenty7tec has reported record numbers of remortgage searches, with a 22.9% month-on-month rise in buy-to-let mortgage searches leading to the highest seven-day totals ever recorded by the company. The searches for mortgages in the £150,000–£250,000 bracket were significantly higher than the 6.4% growth in residential enquiries, with 18th March being the company’s […]
Property listings at seven-year high; sales agreed up 9.3%
The first quarter of 2025 saw 451,000 new properties listed for sale, according to the latest insight from property data analysts TwentyCi – the highest number of Q1 listings in the last seven years. As well as a 4% rise in new instructions, TwentyCi’s figures reveal the number of sales agreed is up year-on-year, with […]
L&G data reveals promising signs, with interest from older first time buyers up by 80%
L&G says there has been a ‘significant increase’ in first-time buyer searches for mortgages, including a sharp rise in older buyers who want to get on the property ladder. Quarter one data from L&G’s Ignite mortgage platform showed an increase of 45% for first-time buyers compared to figures from Q4 of 2024, with searches by […]
Keep up pressure on completion to help vulnerable buyers, says iamproperty co-founder
Ben Ridgway, co-founder of estate agent software company iamproperty, has urged the property industry to achieve faster completions and a more efficient homebuying process in the wake of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) deadline. Failing to do so, he warns, will place strain on vulnerable buyers already faced with an extra £34 million in […]
Market ‘resilient’ market after SDLT surge
The first property trends report of the year from Landmark Information Group reflects ongoing industry positivity following SDLT threshold changes, with continued optimism pointing to a resilient market. The data from Landmark reveals an overall 30% rise in completions in England and Wales for the first quarter of 2025, with an ‘abnormally high’ 71% year-on-year […]
Waltham Forest and Manchester top list of fastest-moving homes markets
New data from property website Zoopla reveals that homes in Manchester and Waltham Forest sell faster than anywhere else in the UK, with an average of just 19 days in each region. Buyers in all regions can expect completion to take between four and six months depending on the complexity of the transaction. Across England […]
53,000 new homes enter the market following stamp duty deadline
Around 54,000 home sellers have entered the market across England since the 31st March stamp duty deadline. However, just 7% of the 53,468 new homes hitting the market across England have been listed with an asking price below the stamp duty threshold of £125,000. Research conducted by estate agency Yopa shows that of the 431,836 […]
Rightmove House Price Index reveals new buyer demand up 5% on last year
Rightmove’s March House Price Index reports ‘resilient activity’ despite stamp duty threshold changes, with an increase in the number of buyers across the UK. Mover activity is strong overall, with a 5% year-on-year increase in new buyers. The majority of regions in the Midlands, north of England, Wales and Scotland saw above average increases in […]