ANALYSIS: Property listings continue to boom
At first glance, property listings and net sales look high, but Kate Faulkner explains how to correctly interpret the market data.
This month the data shows that property listings continue to boom while net sales are still the second highest since 2017, but as the data from HMRC shows, around 40% of sales up to the end of September happened before the end of the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday.
This is why transactions are still recording being up year on year, while ‘on the ground’ currently the market is being reported as stalling.
Summary of the latest supply and demand data
“Agreed sales in the last four weeks are down in Wales (-9%), the South East (-8%), the East of England (-6%) and London (-5). However, committed buyers in more affordable markets are pushing ahead before the year end.
“There have been more sales agreed in Scotland (+3%), Yorkshire & the Humber (+4%), the South West (+1%), and the West Midlands (+1%) over the last four weeks when compared with last year.”
“The average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch increased to 73 in September.
“In September 2025, only 1% of properties sold for more than the asking price, while 93% were sold for less.”
“The decade-high number of homes available on the market continues to restrict price growth, with many new sellers keen to avoid standing out by over-pricing compared with their competition.”
“Demand from buyers has held up well coming into autumn, despite a degree of uncertainty in the market, with the number of new mortgages being approved recently hitting its highest level so far this year.
“Latest Bank of England figures show the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchases increased in September 2025 by +1.5% to 65,944. Year-on-year the figure was +0.5% above September 2024.
(Source: Bank of England, seasonally-adjusted figures).
“The RICS Residential Market Survey results for September 2025 indicates continued weakness in the sales market. New buyer enquiries posted a third consecutive negative net balance of -19%, slightly down from -18% in August.
“Agreed sales improved to -16% from -24%, while new instructions remained in negative territory for the second month at -15% (previously -4%). (Source: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) monthly report.”
