posted 4th February 2025
What's happening to house prices?
House prices rose by around 3% in 2024, and experts forecast similar rises in 2025.
House prices rose slightly in 2024, but hopes of a significant market uplift were largely delayed by stubbornly high mortgage rates.
The latest data from the Land Registry shows an annual rise of 3.3%, with the average UK house price standing at £290,000 in November.
How have house prices changed?
The Land Registry's UK House Price Index is the most reliable barometer of what's happening to house prices, as it's based on actual property sales rather than asking prices. It works on a two-month lag, so the most recent figures are for November 2024.
The Land Registry says the average price of a property in the UK increased by 3.3% between November 2023 and 2024.
In the 12 months prior, house prices decreased by 2.6%.
How many homes are being sold?
Housing transactions picked up towards the end of 2024, as buyers returned to the market amid mortgage rate drops.
The most recent data from HMRC shows that an estimated 96,330 transactions went through in December 2024, up 19% on 2023's figure.
What will happen to house prices this year?
There is a consensus among experts that house prices will rise this year, with predictions far more bullish than a year ago.
Knight Frank and Zoopla predict modest growth of 2.5%, while Savills and Rightmove both forecast increases of 4%.
Halifax estimates house price will rise by up to 3% next year and Nationwide predicts that they could increase by as much as 4%.
News agency Reuters asked 21 UK housing experts for their predictions in November.
On average, experts predicted a 3.1% rise in 2025, with individual forecasts ranging from 2% to 6%.
(Data source: Which? 31 January 2025)
