Housing Insight Reports

A mixed performance across the UK housing market in May. Despite broader economic uncertainties, including stubborn inflation and modest GDP contraction, the sector remains resilient with both challenges and signs of recovery.

As the new Stamp Duty thresholds were introduced from April across England and Northern Ireland, it’s inevitable that a slowing in the pace of the market was to be noted. In the lettings market, we have seen a welcome jump in the number of properties on the market.

Wider economic factors and upcoming interest rate decisions will likely play a key role in the trajectory of the housing market moving forward. Nevertheless, overall pricing, mortgage products, and confidence are all trending upward, providing a perfect mix to help get people onto or move up the property ladder.

It’s likely that we will now see a return to a normal pace in the sales market now that the Stamp Duty threshold changes have taken effect in England and Northern Ireland. This spurred on a spike in momentum which is likely to tail off in line with previous trends seen on the back of property tax changes.

As widely expected, there was an uplift in activity in the sales market due mainly to the Stamp Duty thresholds changing in April, which will see many homeowners pay more property tax in England and Northern Ireland.

Winter is historically quieter in the sales market as people hunker down for the festive period. However, with the announcement that many will see increases in their Stamp Duty bill from April 2025, in some cases costing the average buyer thousands of extra pounds, we expect there to be a noticeable shift in activity moving into 2025.

The next few months are likely to prove busy for the sales market, with stock coming to the market and consumers showing they are keen to stay ahead of Stamp Duty threshold changes due in England and Northern Ireland in April 2025. The lettings market remains extremely challenging, with long-running issues regarding an intense lack of rental stock across the UK.

As we head into the New Year, the sales market is set to see a trend unlike those historically seen across the winter months, with buyers and sellers, especially across England and Northern Ireland, pushing their sales and purchases through to save potentially thousands of pounds before the changes to Stamp Duty thresholds take effect from April 2025.

The announcement of Stamp Duty rises in England and Northern Ireland from April 2025 will likely push more people to the market in hopes of completing to, in some cases, save thousands on their next home purchase. Howevefr, tightened purse strings are being seen across the whole private rented sector.

Although the year to date has seen the economy take a more stable footing, which has assisted in bringing an enhanced level of consumer confidence to the housing market, it is important to consider there are still challenges ahead. The housing sector continues to suffer from a long-standing absence of available stock, within both the sales and rental sectors.

We entered July with a new government and the prospect of a reset in major housing policy areas. Despite this, and a wetter than normal July, prospective buyer registrations in the residential sales sector were up, and so too were the number of sales agreed. Reflecting seasonal trends alongside the anticipation of an August rate cut, most other sales metrics remained static.

June marks the beginning of the Great British Summer and a seasonal change in the activity of home buyers. Key demand metrics, including the number of prospective buyer registrations and the number of viewings, have reduced slightly as consumer attention turns to the holiday season. In the residential lettings sector supply and demand remains imbalanced, with tenant demand increasing in June and stock levels marginally decreasing.

While both sectors remain resilient, there is much that the next government can do to support buyers, renters such as improving the home buying/renting process and professionalisation of the sector via the regulation of agents. More broadly there is a need for a review of property taxes to make changes which stimulate supply and demand.

The residential sales sector has seen an early flurry of activity in April with prospective buyer registrations, new sales instructions, and the number of sales agreed all increasing. In the residential lettings sector, our members report an increase in the number of prospective tenant registrations. However, while stock levels have increased slightly, demand continues to outstrip supply.

Demand increased within the residential sales sector, with the number of buyers registered and the number of viewings per property both increasing. In the residential lettings sector, tenant demand decreased, and stock levels increased marginally. However, legislative change including the Renters (Reform) Bill and Housing (Scotland) Bill, continues to dominate the wider discourse.

In the residential sales sector, demand has temporarily slowed following the January post-Christmas bounce. Rents continue to fluctuate by location and property type, although there are some signs of stabilisation. As we progress into March and beyond, the re-establishment of seasonal trends should result in positive progress in both the sales and lettings sectors.

The new year has arrived and those who had delayed moving at the end of last year have returned to the market on mass. However, there has been little change in the economic environment that households must contend with. Interest rates are stable but are higher than those seeking mortgages or re-mortgages would prefer and inflation remains some way off UK Government targets.

December marks the end of an interesting and challenging year within the property market. In the wider economy interest rates have stabilised, however, inflationary concerns remain, and GDP growth has been anaemic. In response to these and other factors, house prices have fallen in some areas. In the PRS, tinkering by the UK and devolved governments and continued strong demand has caused rents to rise.

Economic uncertainty continues to pervade the UK economy and housing markets. In the residential sales sector, seasonal trends are undoubtedly weighing on market performance. In the lettings sector, supply and demand remain relatively static, but imbalanced with the equivalent of nine new applicants registered for each available property.

The Autumn statement had an upbeat feel and yielded some positive news for the housing industry. However, this is no time to celebrate while the cost-of-living crisis continues to limp on. In the letting sector, the number of new prospective tenants registered per member branch has decreased month on month since July 2023.