The past 12 months have been momentous in many ways both political, sporting, economic and – of course – housing.

Estate agents have been bearing the brunt of these changes both for the better and worse, whether it’s Labour’s planned re-engineering of the private rented sector, or the high interest rates that have battered the sales market during most of 2024.

But what does 2025 have in store? Here we gather the views of agents, lenders and other players within the property industry. Strap in!

‘Dampened price performance’ – Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons

“The end of 2024 approaches, the mood of the housing market has shifted from trepidation to cautious optimism. Lower mortgage rates have been the principal catalyst for change, falling more rapidly than we expected,” she says.

“Even though an improving affordability picture, driven by lower mortgage rates and robust pay rises, looks likely to fuel price increases and transactions in 2025, higher rates for longer will weigh on long-term growth.

“The combined effect of persistently higher interest rates and sluggish economic growth is likely to dampen long-term house price performance compared to previous cycles. It will also remain a barrier to homeownership for many would-be first-time buyers, limiting longer-term transaction numbers.

Higher rates for longer will weigh on long-term growth.”

“While the future direction of interest rates seems to have been mapped out, the pace of this journey and its ultimate destination remains uncertain. Changes to rate expectations remain the key risk to the housing market. But what seems more certain is that the London market is set to outperform the other regions next year as a new cycle begins.”

‘Stability and growth’ – Nick Leeming, Jackson-Stops

“As we look ahead to 2025, the UK property market appears poised for a period of stability and soft growth.

“With the political landscapes looking more settled and the shockwaves from the October budget subsiding, we have every reason to expect a more balanced market in 2025.

“This newfound equilibrium will be beneficial for both buyers and sellers, fostering an environment where transaction can proceed with greater confidence and predictability.”

‘Happy and healthy’ – Kate Faulkner OBE, property expert

“Forecasts for 2025 are looking good. Despite the current doom and gloom mantra, actually the economic and property market figures are looking good – in the private sector.

“Good wage growth, inflation back to ‘normal’ and interest rates expected to reduce are perfect conditions for a healthy property market.

“Property-wise, prices aren’t too bad either having fall a little since the Liz Truss budget disaster and, again, despite the headlines, neither are rents. They have increased more than normal but that’s because they move in line with wages and incomes have risen more than inflation and more than property price and in some cases, rental growth.

I have no doubt that transactions have the opportunity to return to their 1.2 mn norm in 2025.”

“So affordability, bar the usual tough areas like Harrogate, Bristol and of course London, most markets are quite healthy.

“Bearing in mind that you have miraculously managed to sell 1.1mn homes in this year’s tough market, I have no doubt that transactions have the opportunity to return to their 1.2 mn norm in 2025 if we have no more shocks and base rates fall, albeit slowly!”

‘Labour’s ambition welcome’ – Colin Brown, Carter Jonas

“The Government’s housebuilding target is highly ambitious, and unlikely to be achieved in any year to 2030, let alone as an average over the period.

“However, the ambition is welcome and given that so much political capital has been invested in achieving a step-change in delivery by the next general election, the pace of housebuilding is likely to start accelerating.

“2025 will be a crucial year on the road to achieving this, and we expect increased clarity and detail from the government on how it intends to boost delivery.”

‘Base rate falling’ – Henry Knight, Springtide Capital Mortgage Brokers

“Forecasts for interest rates in 2025 suggest a downward trend, with predictions of the base rate falling to around 3.5%.

“This decline is anticipated to translate into lower mortgage rates, benefiting both new purchasers and those looking to refinance.

“By securing a mortgage offer now you are ready and in a strong position to act accordingly, depending on how the market changes.”

‘The lettings sector is set for a year of change’ – Heidi Shackell, MD, The Letttings Hub

“The lettings sector is set for a year of change, as agents and landlords prepare for the Renters’ Rights Bill which is expected to be enacted sometime around the summer. Although the changes are feared by some, we see this inevitable change as an opportunity for agents to embrace new ways of working and offer additional, high value services to their landlords.

“One area where change will be most visible will be a growing reliance on tech. With the risk that problematic tenants could be more difficult to evict, agents have to be more confident than ever in the tenants they move into their home and offer rent and legal protection assurances. Plus, new responsibilities will see an increased reliance on digital solutions and automated processes to remove the risk of human error.

“Rental homes will remain in demand; even with some landlords feeling cautious about the impact of the Bill, those who remain in our sector will find there is no shortage of tenants, and as a result we expect to see rents continue to rise and the returns to be positive.

Letting agents need to consider how they approach managing requests for pets.”

“One change that I’m particularly positive about is the prospect that pet ownership is going to be far easier for tenants. Letting agents need to consider how they approach managing requests for pets, whilst also protecting the home from damage. However, far from being a liability, welcoming pets could help to reduce void periods and encourage longer-term tenancies.

“By embracing change, letting agents can get ahead of the curve and re-position themselves as a solution provider once the Bill is enacted.”

‘Price sensitive buyers’ – Richard Donnell, Zoopla

“The outlook for the housing market in 2025 will be dictated by the strength of the economy and labour market and the trajectory for mortgage rates, all set within the context of the relative affordability of homes across the UK.

“Zoopla expects mortgage rates to remain at current levels and buyers are likely to remain price-sensitive in the face of increased uncertainty regarding the economy and the impact of the budget on the jobs market.

Zoopla expects mortgage rates to remain at current levels and buyers are likely to remain price-sensitive.”

Zoopla forecasts a 2.5 per cent increase in house prices over 2025 and 1.15m housing sales, up from 1.1m in 2024.”

‘More transactions’ – Tim Bannister, Rightmove

“Average asking prices will increase by 4% by the end of next year, which, even though the largest growth we’ve predicted since 2021, is in-line with the long-term average.

“For context, the pandemic years of 2020 to 2022 saw extraordinary price growth, driven by lots more people looking to move than there were homes for sale.

“We expect around 1.15 million completions to happen in 2025, which is an increase on recent years.

“This activity reflects improving market conditions, but sellers will still need to price competitively in order to find a buyer.”

‘Busy first quarter’ – Tim Foreman, Leaders Romans Group

“Whereas in 2024 those moving to new homes sales were generally to the ‘need to moves’ rather than the ‘want to moves’, it is the latter who will fuel demand in 2025.

“We expect a busy first quarter, largely due to the increase in Stamp Duty which kicks in from April. A first-time buyer whose Stamp Duty cost could rise from £0 to £6,250 in Q2 would be well placed to start house-hunting at the earliest opportunity.

“Further drops in interest rates over the course of the year will also provide some relief, though the extent to which the Bank of England reduces the base rate, and the extent to which mortgage lenders follow suite, is unclear.”

‘Brisk pace’ – Tom Goodman, Vouch

“I think 2025 will be characterised by three P’s; pace, policy and pragmatism.

“There is still a lot of heat in the market and house building won’t come quickly enough to disrupt the upward trajectory around rents and demand any time soon.

“Both landlords and agents should expect the pace to remain brisk and demand to stay strong throughout 2025.

“It will also be a huge year for policy changes. The seismic change will come in the form of the Renters’ Rights Bill, but this won’t be the only regulatory or legal shift the sector will face over the coming 12 months.

It’s likely that we’ll get further clarity on EPCs next year, as well as the introduction of a host of changes around taxation.”

“It’s likely that we’ll get further clarity on EPCs next year, as well as the introduction of a host of changes around taxation, including the National Insurance rise. To that end, there will be a lot for agents to contend with, both on behalf of landlords and for their own businesses.

“And, finally, I believe it will be a year of pragmatism. With a market that’s moving so quickly and set to experience a huge regulatory overhaul, agents and landlords will be deploying large doses of pragmatism to get themselves through the upheaval.

“As it’s proved before, the sector is incredibly resilient and good at adaptation. This spirit will be required in spades during the coming year.”

‘Collaborative approach’ – Mark Chick, ALEP

“We hope that 2025 will be the year in which politicians stop describing leasehold as ‘feudal’.

“Likewise, the debate concerning leasehold needs to stop describing it as ‘toxic’, as now all flats are leasehold and ultimately continued naysaying will simply degrade the value of people’s homes.

“There is a need for collaborative working to restore faith and trust in the property sector and many of the ills that have been identified relate to specific issues and number of bad managers/owners, whereas in the majority of cases the system ‘works’.

The debate concerning leasehold needs to stop describing it as ‘toxic’, as now all flats are leasehold.”

“Here at the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) we believe that one of the challenges is people’s access to relevant information and the understanding of it, which is why bodies including ours seek to promote access to appropriate help and understanding.”