As we proceed into 2025, UK property information continues to assert the headlines throughout a lot of the press. Let’s take a short look behind a few of these tales to look at the state of the housing market because the 12 months begins and provide clues about the remainder of the 12 months forward.
UK housing market “begins new 12 months with a bang”
The 12 months has began with a surge within the variety of houses showing in the marketplace, reported the Guardian newspaper not too long ago. There have been some 11% extra houses marketed on the market throughout this January than in the identical month final 12 months.
Heralding what is anticipated to be an particularly energetic market, the newspaper cited on-line listings web site Rightmove’s findings that common costs have additionally registered a notable leap ahead. A typical house was listed on the market at £366,189 throughout January – a 1.7% enhance of £5,992 and the most important spurt in costs to start out any new 12 months since 2020.
Elevated confidence on the a part of potential patrons could assist to elucidate this renewed buoyancy out there. As rates of interest have already fallen to some extent, patrons look like taking consolation from the prospect of additional cuts in rates of interest mixed with a potential fall within the price of inflation to 2.5%.
Regardless of these opening strengths of the market, common home costs nonetheless lag as much as £9,000 decrease than the all-time data achieved in Could of final 12 months.
15m houses gained £7,600 in worth over 2024
The New 12 months’s overview of the housing market by on-line listings web site Zoopla on the 15th of January revealed that half of all UK houses – that’s round 15 million dwellings – elevated in worth by £7,600 or extra in the course of the course of final 12 months.
Not all properties fared so effectively, in fact. Round one-third of houses – largely within the southeast of England – noticed a slight drop in worth as a result of the upper value of borrowing had lowered buying energy.
The general affect on costs throughout all 30 million houses was calculated as a median enhance of £2,400.
Essentially the most sluggish of will increase – with simply 36% registering an increase in costs – have been in houses within the south of England; 62% of these within the north of the nation and Scotland noticed will increase; whereas 70% of these within the northeast gained in worth. The very best features – of a median £4,400 – have been seen within the northwest.
The newest on the Renters’ Rights Invoice because it strikes to the Home of Lords
On the 14th of January, the landlords’ foyer group Propertymark criticised a lot of amendments to the Renters’ Rights Invoice because it passes up from the Home of Commons to the Lords for additional scrutiny. Specifically, it argued in opposition to the proposals to:
- restrict to 1 month the quantity of hire landlords could cost tenants prematurely;
- limit the power of landlords to repossess student-let property;
- charges raised from landlords getting used to fund the proposed new non-public rented sector Ombudsman; and
- the creation of a register of landlords and the upkeep of a landlord’s database.
Propertymark is worried that whereas the amendments may seem to favour tenants, within the longer run the disincentives for landlords may lead to fewer and costlier properties within the non-public rented sector.
Petition calls for EPC equality for personal rental properties
A narrative in Landlord At present final month described a petition to the Home of Commons by a personal sector landlord calling for the strict power effectivity necessities for rental houses to be utilized to all sorts of housing – regardless of the tenure.
The petitioner is making his bid following affirmation from Ed Miliband the Power Secretary that every one houses within the non-public rented sector might want to have an Power Efficiency Certificates (EPC) ranking of C – or higher – by the 12 months 2030.
