As part of our ongoing commitment to provide you with everything you need to know about the UK property market, we’re rounding up what happened during Q2 2025 and what to expect from the housing market in 2025.
Now that the first half of 2025 is behind us, we’re taking a step back and looking at what’s happening across the UK property market, what we can expect going forward and how the market is looking for first-time buyers.
After a flurry of activity following the changes to stamp duty made in April, coupled with the typically quieter summer months, there’s plenty to consider if you’re looking at buying or selling your home in the next few months.
What’s happening in the UK housing market now that Q2 is done?
If there’s one overriding theme to the year so far, it’s the pace at which we’re buying and selling homes.
While we all expected more people to try and sell their homes before the stamp duty deadline, not many people were expecting the level of activity we’ve seen since April 1st.
According to Rightmove, the number of sales agreed has risen by 5% over the last 12 months, while the number of buyers getting in touch with estate agents has risen by 6% over the same period.
In a similar vein, Zoopla data suggests that there are 14% more homes on the market now than there were a year ago, a notable increase at a time when supply and demand have been headline topics for a while.
So, how is this affecting us?
For sellers, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that price point is more important than ever. Sellers are now having to operate in a much more competitive market and many are reducing their asking prices to stand out.
For buyers, then, there’s never been more choice. In the current market, buyers have plenty of properties to choose from and due to this shift in attitude around pricing, it’s also much easier for them to see which properties are overpriced.
As always, this has also had a huge impact on house prices. With so much activity occurring and so many people reducing their asking prices, house prices are largely being kept in check. Going by Zoopla’s data, over the last 12 months, the average UK property has only grown in price by 1.4%.
What can we expect from house price growth over the rest of the year?
With the factors above taken into account, many experts are looking to revise their forecasts for the rest of 2025.
At the time of writing, Rightmove has effectively halved its property price growth forecast for 2025 from 4% to 2%, citing ‘seller competition’ as the reason for the lower prediction.
Likewise, Savills has also revised its original forecast of 4% and expects average prices to only rise by 1% over 2025.
Things aren’t all doom and gloom, however. Savills still believes that UK property will benefit over the next five years and expects UK house prices to grow by 24.5% by the end of 2029.
How do things look for first-time buyers?
After several policies came into effect around Q2, things are looking better for first-time buyers.
With many lenders easing their regulations around mortgages, particularly around affordability and allowances, we’re not only seeing more transactions but also seeing more first-time buyers get on the ladder.
Savills believes that by 2027, transaction numbers will revert to their original benchmark of 1.2 million per year. Rightmove echoes the sentiment and believes that even this year, we’ll achieve 1.15 million transactions.
