No Festive Break for the Housing Market
Welcome to our final housing market snapshot for 2024 with the inside track of sales and rentals from the agents who are on the front line of local housing markets.
Even though the holiday period is almost here, there’s still plenty of market material coming through to help inform your decision on whether to buy, sell or rent.
In fact, before we get to the latest housing market figures, let me flag up a major one-off influence on the market right now.
An unusually important winter housing market
Unlike most winter periods, when the housing market is typically less active than the rest of the year, we’re expecting a busier time. At least in England and Northern Ireland.
That’s because first-time buyers will be pushing their sales and purchases through to save thousands of pounds before changes to stamp duty on April 1, 2025.
This is the date from which stamp duty for first timers is once again charged on homes priced £300,000 or more. Until then, there’s a temporary break and first-timers don’t have to pay stamp duty unless their purchase is £425,000 or more.
With many transactions taking several months to progress from an offer being accepted to the buyer moving in, first-time buyers are very sensibly working hard now to press agents, conveyancers and surveyors, to meet that deadline.
We saw the first signs of this trend as early as October, which is the timeframe for this month’s report from around 100 sales and 100 letting agents with Propertymark accreditation, right across the UK.
Let’s look at the figures related to the housing market.
Housing market sales figures
Transactions in October leapt to a huge 23% higher than in October 2023. This was partly down to those first-time buyers. And partly due to growing optimism amongst purchasers of all ages that interest rates would drop.
The supply of homes listed for sale with Propertymark agents rose too. To an average of 49 at each member branch. Market appraisals – when agents make initial visits to properties after being invited by owners who are pondering whether to sell – also increased to a monthly 27 per branch.
Meanwhile, the average number of potential buyers registering with each Propertymark agent comes in at exactly 100. This is a two-year high. See what I mean about this winter being busier than normal!
This all leads Propertymark’s chief executive Nathan Emerson to tell me:
“Affordability continues to improve for many across the country and with that, so has activity … We expect to see a healthy and adaptable market in 2025.”
The rental market
After many months with little new to say about lettings, there’s also been a change in this sector. Although it’s still the case that supply lags behind demand.
Even so, the number of new tenants registering per Propertymark branch fell to 93, compared to 113 in September. That means there’s an average of nine people looking for each available property. Well below the rate recorded in much of 2024.
Some 55% of Propertymark agents reported that rents remained generally static, with 17% recording a fall, and 27% seeing increases. Again, that’s a slightly more balanced picture.
And some continuing good news – rental arrears in the private sector, already low, have dipped further.
“Agents report a healthy number of rental properties on their books that currently are not witnessing widespread rental increases. This has been a key issue due to landlords’ raised mortgages and other costs requiring them to push up rents to, in many cases, so they just break even.”
Nathan Emerson
A Merry Christmas?
As the year ends it’s easy to look at the negatives in the housing market. Interest rates remain higher than we had hoped, and the wider economy is perhaps less certain than we anticipated.
But as we raise our glasses at Christmas, let’s make them half full – not half empty!
We’re certainly in a more stable economic and political landscape than a year ago. My view is that with sales transactions well up in 2023, there’s every reason for those considering a move in 2025 to use this holiday to put plans in place.
For buyers, the annual ‘Boxing Day Bounce’ (actually lasting from December 26 until well into January) is where property websites are jammed with people seeing what is available and re-evaluating options in the housing market. For sellers, there’s a list of jobs elsewhere on Move iQ to ensure your property is optimised for going on the market early next year.
So, we should welcome 2025 as a time of opportunity in the housing market.
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Last Updated: December 17th, 2024
