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House Price Index: January 2025

The housing market in 2025 is off to a better start than the previous two years. More people are now looking to buy and the outlook for market activity bodes well.

Words by: Richard Donnell

Executive Director - Research

Key figures

The average house price in the UK is £267,700 as of December 2024 (published in January 2025).

Property prices are now at +2% inflation compared to a year ago and the average UK house price is set to rise by 2.5% by the end of the year.

Average house price in December 2024

Average house price in November 2024

Average house price in October 2024

Year-on-year change (£)

Year-on-year change (%)

All property

£267,700

£267,500

£267,200

£5,170

2%

Detached houses

£450,000

£449,600

£449,500

£5,580

1.3%

Flats

£191,600

£191,700

£192,100

£2,000

1.1%

Semi-detached houses

£274,200

£273,700

£273,900

£7,490

2.8%

Terraced houses

£236,000

£236,300

£236,700

£6,280

2.7%

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Sales market momentum from 2024 spills into 2025

House price index January 2025: 2025 begins with double digit growth in sales market activity

The momentum in sales market activity over 2024 has spilled over into 2025 despite concerns over mortgage rates drifting higher and some softening in consumer confidence over the economic outlook. 

The number of homes for sale is 10% higher than this time last year, with the average estate agent branch having 31 homes for sale - the highest January total for 7 years.

More sellers means more buyers too, with demand 13% higher than this time last year and 26% higher than at the start of 2023.

Sales agreed are up 12% as some buyers attempt to beat the reduced stamp duty deadline at the end of March.  

UK house price inflation stood at +2% at the end of December 2024, up from -0.9% a year ago and the fastest growth rate since April 2023.

Higher stamp duty from April has boosted demand

The October 2024 Budget confirmed that more buyers would pay higher stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland from April 2025 - both existing owners and first-time buyers (FTBs). 

FTB demand jumped by over a third in November and December 2024 in the price bands where stamp duty for FTBs will increase the most - between £300,000 and £625,000.

But buyer demand increased more slowly for homes below £300,000, where FTBs will continue to pay no stamp duty, and for homes over £625,000, where there remains no tax relief for FTBs. 

It is now too late for buyers to agree and complete on a property purchase before the end of March 2025 in order to pay lower stamp duty. We don’t see a cliff edge in demand coming as FTB interest remains higher year-on-year, in line with the wider market. 

Homeowner demand has also increased since the Autumn Budget, but to a lesser degree, as the extra stamp duty from April (up to £2,500 per purchase) will be less impactful than the extra cost for FTBs buying in the £350,000 to £625,000 price range.

House price index January 2025: FTB demand jumps in price bands where stamp duty costs will rise in April

Earnings rising faster than house prices for 2 years

House price inflation remains in low single digits across most of the country. The average UK house price stands at £267,700, representing an increase of £5,200 or 2% over 2024. 

Low house price growth is down to the ongoing impact of higher mortgage rates on buying power, and wider cost of living pressures. Housing affordability is slowly improving as mortgage rates stabilise in the 4-5% range and earnings rise faster than house prices - a trend that has been running since December 2022. 

Annual earnings growth remains over 5%, a factor playing a key role in resetting housing affordability. This sets a scene for above-average house price inflation in areas with jobs growth and lower house prices.

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House price inflation increases across all markets

The fastest growth in average house prices is in Northern Ireland (7.7%), where prices are rebounding off a low base, followed by North West England (3.2%). 

The North West of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have recorded faster employment growth over the last 2 years than the regions of southern England. Locally, prices are rising the fastest in Wigan in the North West (5.6%) and Motherwell in Scotland (4.9%). 

Southern regions of England are recording the lowest rates of house price inflation, below 1.5%. The recent boost to FTB demand is more concentrated in London and South East England and we expect this to support near-term price inflation in these regions. 

There are signs that the recent upturn in prices is starting to level out as mortgage rates drift higher and buyers have plenty of homes to choose from. This will keep price inflation in check over 2025, but the current north-south divide in house price inflation is expected to continue over the year ahead.  

House price index January 2025: House price inflation increases across all markets

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Increase in households looking to buy in 2025

While there is speculation that demand may cool after stamp duty costs rise from April 2025, we find that there is an increased appetite amongst consumers to move home in the next 2 years. 

Zoopla’s Monthly Consumer Tracker shows there has been an increase in the proportion of renters and existing homeowners looking to buy compared to a year ago. This is down to households delaying decisions in the face of higher mortgage rates in recent years and expectations of base rates cuts in 2025. 

Over a fifth of renters want to buy a home, having seen the cost of renting rise rapidly over the last 2 years. Renters buying homes are a driving force in the FTB market, which we expect to be the largest buyer group once again in 2025. 

Just under a fifth of homeowners want to move in the next 2 years, while a quarter have no immediate plans to move but are keeping a close watch on the market should circumstances change. 

House price index January 2025: more consumers looking to buy a home

Outlook

The first few weeks of each year tend to provide a clear indication of how the rest of the year will unfold. 2025 has started off better than both 2024 and 2023. This bodes well for market activity over the rest of the year, supported by evidence of more people looking to move. 

While some are rushing to beat the new stamp duty levels by March, we don’t see this having a major impact on activity overall.  Three in five FTBs will still pay no stamp duty from April and the extra costs on homeowner movers remains manageable. 

A healthy stock of homes for sale will keep price rises in check and we are forecasting that average UK house prices will rise by 2.5% in 2025, with 5% more sales taking place than last year, a predicted total of 1.15m. Rising incomes and base rate cuts are set to continue improving housing affordability over 2025.

House Price Index December 2024: country, region and city summary

House price index January 2025: region and city map annual % change

Download the full House Price Index January 2025 report

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About our House Price Index

The Zoopla House Price Index (HPI) is a repeat sales-based price index, using sold prices, mortgage valuations and data for recently agreed sales. The index uses more input data than any other and is designed to accurately track the change in pricing for UK housing. It’s a revisionary index and non-seasonally adjusted.

The HPI for October 2024 uses the most recent full data available up to August 2024. We revise previous data where needed to ensure the most accurate representation of the market at any given time.


We try to make sure that the information here is accurate at the time of publishing. But the property market moves fast and some information may now be out of date. Zoopla Property Group accepts no responsibility or liability for any decisions you make based on the information provided.

Sold house prices provided by Land Registry/Registers of Scotland. © Crown copyright 2025. Our website is completely free for you to use but we may receive a commission from some of the companies we link to on the site.

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