April sees the introduction of the new stamp duty increases. In the prior months of 2025 we saw a lot of activity in the market with many transactions completing before the stamp duty changes came into effect. There is now less incentive to sell your house fast and buyers are facing increased stamp duty costs which may affect their affordability. Those most affected will be first time buyers who are buying a house above £500,000 as they are facing a minimum £6000 increase in the stamp duty owed if they don’t complete by the end of March. There are different bands of stamp duty which are being changed the new rates and a calculator can be accessed here.

During April we have seen a upheaval in the financial markets caused by Donald Trump introducing a wave of higher trade tariffs. The UK has got off relatively lightly compared to the rest of world, in particular, China who are facing tariffs of 145% on goods exported from China to The USA and they have reciprocated with tarrifs of 125% on imported products from the USA. For the rest of the world their is currently a 90 day pause until the tariffs come into effect. It is a global concern that a trade war will cause prices of goods to rise and if this is the case then our UK interest rates may have to be lowered at a quicker rate than the path that we were on. This could be good news for the UK property market and mortgage rates have already been lowered in anticipation of The Bank of England lowering the base rate. 

On March 20th The Bank of England base rate remained at 4.5%. Currently the average five year fixed mortgage stands at 5.14% which is still higher than the average mortgage rate of a couple of years ago. If mortgage rates continue to fall it will make buying a house more accessible for many, in theory this should get the property market moving faster.

Certain costs for homeowners may still hold the market back, inflation at the shops and higher energy bills have caused a cost of living crisis. In recent months Inflation is on the rise and it was reported to be 3.7% in February down from 3.9% in January. This is however significantly lower than the peak of 9.6% that was seen in 2022 but prices are still rising but just not as fast. During February consumer spending increased by a moderate 0.6%, there are signs that consumers have more money to spend but there is still a underlying cost of living crisis that includes increased energy costs, council tax and other bills that is giving less disposable income for potential property buyers.

What Are the Current House Price Figures?

In the UK there are various different sources that analyse the market and produce average house price figures with differing results so here’s a look at what each index has reported:

Halifax

The Halifax House Price Index reported in April and represents figures for March, shows that house prices fell by 0.5% in March after a smaller fall of 0.2% in February. According to Halifax the average house price now stands at £296,699. Annually house prices are up 2.8% which is the same as it was in February. It is mentioned that the increased demand in property transactions is now returning to normal since the Stamp Duty deadline has passed. The Halifax national house price can seen in the chart below:

Halifax House Price Index March 2025

Nationwide

The Nationwide House Price index for March shows zero monthly change since February. The average rate of house price growth also remained unchanged at 3.9%. Interestingly, the price of semi detached houses have increased the most in the past 12 months at 4.8% growth. The report for March shows that the national house price ended up at £271,316.

Nationwide House Price Index March 2025

Zoopla

Similar to Rightmove, Zoopla record advertised “For Sale” prices so they are always more optimistic than Land Registry results and prices that are reported by mortgage lenders. Zoopla are reporting that house prices inflation has slowed at 1.8% higher than the previous year. Last month it was reported that house prices have increased 24% in the past 5 years compared to flats that have only increased 7%. There is also currently 14% more flats being added to the market for sale whereas there are 5% houses. With there being more flats for sale the prices of flats may continue to struggle. According to Zoopla the average house price currently stands at £267,500 as of February. Zoopla predict that the property market will rise by 2.5% during 2025.

Zoopla House Price Chart March 2025

Rightmove

House Prices on Rightmove are based on asking prices and the UK average now stands at £371,870. March’s figures show a monthly increase of £3876, which is 1.1% higher than the previous month. The full report for March can be seen here.

Office of National Statistics

The Office of National Statistics now reports data in a report that is called Private Rent and House Prices. The data for March shows that over the past year the national house price has increased 4.9% for figures recorded up to January and stands at £269,000. These figures are delayed by a couple of months as they are based on completed prices. 

Should You Buy a House in 2025 or Wait?

Last year the market analysts had a rather pessimistic view on the housing market and had largely predicted that the national house price would end up lower than 2023. They were proven wrong and the national house price in 2024 ended up higher by all the different indices. 

For 2025 there is an optimistic view from all the analysts who have a positive outlook on property prices with zero negative predictions. The most optimistic view can be seen from Rightmove who predict a 4% rise in house prices and the general average consensus from the different analysts seems to be at around a 2.5% price rise. 

The year is expected to start off with a lot of transactions and a scramble to complete before stamp duty hikes in April. There is also the expectation that Interest rates will fall further as has been expressed by The Bank of England towards the end of last year. We have however entered 2025 with some negative news regarding growth and inflation which is largely due to the measure’s set out in the Autumn budget, therefore people are starting to doubt that The Bank of England will reduce interest rates by much this year. In conclusion it seems that now is a good time to buy a house but prices may not rise as quickly as expected if Interest rates remain high and the rate of inflation isn’t kept at around 2%.

Here are some of the the predictions of how far house prices could rise or fall during 2025: