Best prospects, best performing, better off. This week in property.
The housing markets with the best prospects for house price growth in 2025: Zoopla
A new analysis has shown that housing markets in Scotland and Northern England have the best prospects for house price growth in 2025, as Southern England continues to adjust to the impact of higher mortgage rates.
Zoopla assessed a range of key housing indicators including the affordability of homes, how quickly property is selling, how much asking prices are being cut to attract demand and how many homes have been on the market for more than six months. These factors were collated and ranked across 120 postal areas of the UK to create an overall ranking of the areas with the best prospects for 2025.
"Our analysis of key local market indicators reveals the areas where there is scope for increased numbers of home moves and house prices to increase at an above-average rate over 2025. While the outlook is best in Scotland and Northern England, there is a spread right across the UK reflecting the demand for and affordability of homes," said Richard Donnell , Executive Director at Zoopla.
In other news
London’s best performing rental market of 2024
Recent data from London lettings and estate agent, Benham & Reeves , revealed which areas of the London property market saw the most consistent rental growth in 2024, with Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and Ealing topping the table.
Across London as a whole, average rents climbed by 4.3% per month over the last year.
"Whilst 2024 may have been an uncertain year for the London housing market, the capital’s rental market continued to experience huge demand from tenants and we’ve seen the rents achieved across all of our offices trend upwards over the course of last year," said Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr .
Landlords still better off despite higher buy-to-let mortgage rates
CEO of Octane Capital , Jonathan Samuels , believes that despite soaring gilt yields, the lending landscape remains a favourable one for UK landlords.
"Since the Budget, we’ve seen swap rates creep up and this has inevitably caused buy-to-let mortgage rates to follow suit," explained Jonathan.
"This is due to the fact that many lenders in this market rely on swaps to lend at fixed rates, and the funding lines are priced in relation to swap prices. So whilst the base rate has not moved, the funding cost to lenders has gone up," he said.
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"The good news is that both swap rates and buy-to-let mortgage rates remain far more palatable than they were a year ago and so, at present, many lenders are opting to take the hit on the margin in hopes of a future reduction. As a result, there remains a good level of opportunity for buy-to-let investors to secure a mortgage at a lower rate than they would have a year or so ago."
House prices see largest January increase since 2020: Rightmove
The average price of property coming to the market for sale has risen by 1.7% this month (+￡5,992) to ￡366,189 - the largest monthly jump in prices at the start of the year since 2020, as new seller asking prices bounce back from the usual seasonal fall in December and begin 2025 with some new year optimism.
However, despite the promising start to 2025, there remain uncertainties for the year ahead, according to Rightmove .
“It’s important to look at the bigger market picture, despite the positive early lead indicators that we’re seeing," advised Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, adding, "Many buyers are still affordability-stretched, with high mortgage rates restricting borrowing power and limiting what they can afford to pay."
Mortgage in Principle applications soar as first-time buyers rush to beat the Stamp Duty deadline
Buyers rushed to complete Mortgage in Principle applications in December 2024, according to the latest data released by Moneybox .
Data, which covers Moneybox Mortgages’ customer activity during Q4 2024, has revealed a substantial increase in the number of Mortgages in Principle completed over the holiday period, with a 70% year-on-year rise on Christmas Day and a significant 76% increase on New Year's Day. In December overall, Moneybox observed an 82% year-on-year MIPs increase.
“The upcoming stamp duty threshold change is clearly driving urgency among first-time buyers, but when buying a home, it's vital to balance speed with thoroughness," says Felicity Holloway , Head of Mortgages at Moneybox.
She adds, "We know that many aspiring homeowners have been saving their deposit for many years, so it's no surprise that some have re-assessed their homebuying timeline and hope to expedite the process. Completing a Mortgage in Principle as early as possible is important as it positions you as a serious buyer, which can be advantageous in competitive situations."