A spike in winter sales activity is likely to fuel a competitive market environment in early 2025.
UK buying agency, Recoco Property Search claims that the current property market may offer a ‘window of opportunity’ for house hunters to start their search now.
Andrew Cronan, a consultant at Recoco Property Search, says: “Throughout the year, a lot of house hunters felt too uncertain about the impact of political and economic developments to consider buying a property. Following the Autumn Budget, falling inflation and the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates from 5% to 4.75%, however, more buyers are regaining their confidence to pursue their property search and even make offers.
“We are also encountering a number of sellers who have been unable to secure a buyer earlier this year and are now experiencing seller fatigue. As a result, they are much more motivated to sell their property now rather than waiting another six months until springtime, which is historically known as a good time of year to list a property.”
Recoco’s projections are supported by the latest Halifax House Price Index which states that market activity has been improving and the number of new mortgages agreed recently reached its highest level in two years. The index also confirmed that house prices have mostly levelled off over the past two and a half years, recording a mere 0.2% increase overall; a significant slowdown compared to the +21% rise seen in the equivalent period from January 2020 to the summer of 2022.
Cronan concludes: “Taking into consideration current market conditions and many sellers’ objective to sell quickly, buyers will be more likely to have the upper hand during price negotiations and secure a favourable price adjustment."