07 Feb, 2025/ by Homeward Legal /Buyer, First Time Buyer, News, Sale & Purchase, Seller
As is frequently highlighted, the state of the housing market is often used as a broader economic indicator - if people are still looking to move home, there is the underlying confidence in the general economy with the certainty that they can afford to go ahead with the plans.
It's for this reason that a number of financial institutions and the Government regularly publish monthly reports on what is happening with the housing market, putting their analyses into what might be happening in the future.
Most recently, it is the turn of property portal Zoopla, whose latest House Price Index for January 2025 shows the following information:
- Sales at the start of the year are better in comparison with the corresponding points in 2024 and 2023.
- Buyer demand, the number of homes available for sale and the number of sales agreed are all at or over 10% higher than this time last year.
- In comparison with last year (when UK house price inflation was in a poor state at -0.9%), the average house price inflation is currently operating at +2.0%, taking in all regions of the UK (with Northern Ireland running at the highest (7.7%) and East England at the lowest (1%)).
- Overall, the number of people looking to buy now or within the next two years has also increased.
- 22% of renters are looking to get on the property ladder for the first time, while 17% of those who already own their home also looking to move home.
According to Zoopla's data, the spread of prices across the types of home bought are:
Average house price December 2024 | Average house price November 2024 | Average house price October 2024 | Year-on-year change (£) | Year-on-year change (%) | |
Flats | £191,600 | £191,700 | £192,100 | £2,000 | 1.1% |
Terraced houses | £236,000 | £236,300 | £236,700 | £6,280 | 2.7% |
Semi-detached houses | £274,200 | £273,700 | £273,900 | £7,490 | 2.8% |
Detached houses | £450,000 | £449,600 | £449,500 | £5,580 | 1.3% |
All property | £267,700 | £267,500 | £267,200 | £5,170 | 2% |
Source: Zoopla
The case of the Stamp Duty rush
When the Labour Government took over in July 2024, they maintained the Conservatives' stamp duty policy, which had reduced the onus of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on First-Time Buyers (FTBs). This was scheduled to revert back to the previous higher levels at the beginning of April 2025, and the new Government has made no provisions for changing or extending the FTB reduction.
This has meant that, as Zoopla notes, there has been a lot of activity with FTBs rushing to take advantage of the last few weeks of the reduced SDLT levels, particularly (and unsurprisingly) in the price bands where there will be the steepest SDLT rises in the spring.
What does this mean?
Certainly, the plan to help boost ownership for FTBs who would otherwise have struggled to get a foothold on the property ladder has been successful.
But, without any planned changes other than reverting back to the original higher levels, the gate is firmly shut and bolted on any further purchases from hereon in. The amount of time it takes from putting in an offer, getting that agreed and moving on to exchanging contracts and on to completion is simply too long to take any further advantage.
The general position is that, while any future FTB activity will be looking at that higher SDLT burden, which could have an impact on the overall housing market, Zoopla does not envisage “a cliff edge in demand” since the future demand in the FTB group in wanting to buy is still looking strong and is in line with the general market indicators.
If you are looking for a focused and driven conveyancing solicitor, who will work hard to get you to the completion date as quickly as possible, look no further than Homeward Legal.
Our conveyancers will start work on your plans as soon as you agree to the quotation and appoint them to represent you.
Homeward Legal will also provide a quote that will not change - what you are quoted is what you pay for standard conveyancing process, which means you can effectively budget for your conveyancing needs.
There are some unforeseen items that might arise during the purchase and/or sale, which includes a specialist flood assessment report, but the solicitor discusses these and their cost as they come up.
In addition, to protect the homebuyer further, Homeward Legal operates a ‘no completion, no fee' promise, which ensures that, should the purchase or sale not go through as planned to completion status, no payment is required.
Call to get your conveyancing quote started, or to discuss your concerns with your plans to move.
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