Category archives: Residential Property Review

Housebuilding falls to seven-year low as planning delays persist   Housebuilding in England has dropped to its lowest level since 2017, excluding the pandemic period, with just 217,911 new homes completed in 2024.   This marks a 6% decline from 2023’s total of 231,000 and continues a four-quarter trend of falling completions, according to Energy Performance Certificate […]

The Bank of England cut Bank Rate from 4.75% to 4.5% in early February   Housing market activity in January 2025 was around 13% higher than the same time last year  The government has announced new plans to simplify the homebuying process  Falling Bank Rate offers boost to mortgage holders  The Bank of England cut Bank […]

What to expect in 2025…  Property experts Savills are hopeful that 2025 will be a positive year for the housing market, despite some challenges.     The average house price is expected to increase by 4% over the course of this year, partly due to improved mortgage affordability restoring confidence among potential buyers. In 2024, performance in […]

Property market trends in 2024  As we approach the new year, Zoopla has highlighted trends in the UK property market in 2024.   It is expected that, by the end of the year, there will have been 1.1 million sales completed – 10% more than last year. Meanwhile, January was the busiest month for visitors to […]

Improving conditions in the residential market  Activity in the residential property market is picking up as house prices continue to show modest growth, according to Savills.   In August, mortgage approvals were only 3% below pre-pandemic levels. In September, sales agreed and new instructions were 8% and 9% above their respective 2017-2019 averages, highlighting that supply […]

Recovery in the residential market  Recent data indicates that the residential property market is continuing to recover.   According to TwentyCi, in the period from June to August 2024, sales agreed were only 1% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Promisingly, the number of new property listings was up 3%, indicating growing confidence among sellers. Meanwhile, Bank of […]

First cut in Bank Rate in over four years  The Bank of England has reduced Bank Rate for the first time in more than four years.   The rate is now 5%, having been held at 5.25% since August 2023, after 14 consecutive increases. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) marginally voted in favour of reducing Bank […]

A new Labour government – what next for housing?   Following the Labour Party’s landslide election win, what changes might be in store for the UK housing market?   In the Prime Minister’s introduction to the King’s Speech on 17 July, Sir Keir Starmer stated “Too many people currently live with the threat of insecurity and injustice, […]

Housing market update  The UK housing market continues to show modest signs of recovery, according to the latest data from Savills.   Despite some house price growth, a significant upturn is considered unlikely until mortgage affordability improves.   Buyer activity continues to improve, as the number of sales agreed in May was 10% higher than the 2017-2019 […]