Estate agents anticipate high demand in brighter 2025

GetAgent commissioned a survey of estate agents to gauge their thoughts on the year ahead, as well as what they see as the biggest challenges for the property market in 2025, with the results showing that the majority of agents believe 2025 is set to bring a year of positivity for the property market. Over three-quarters - 76% - of the respondents stated that they believe the market will continue to recover over the next year, which is backed by the improving numbers of mortgage approvals reported by the Bank of England.

67% of agents surveyed by GetAgent believe that this increasing level of buyer demand will continue in 2025, with more mortgages being approved - and the majority of those surveyed believe that we will see this initial gauge of buyer activity convert, with 64% expecting an increase in sales volumes in 2025 versus 2024.

Of course, an increase in market activity often drives house price performance and 69% of those surveyed expect house prices to climb in 2025, following months of consistent upward growth in 2024.

However, whilst 2025 is expected to be another year of positivity, estate agents do believe that the looming SDLT deadline at the end of March could bring a momentary bump in the road. With current SDLT relief thresholds set to end from 1st April, homebuyers will be scrambling to complete before this cost is set to climb.

67% of those surveyed by GetAgent believe that once this deadline does expire, there will be a market correction, as the market returns to normality.

When asked what they believe will be the biggest challenges for the market in 2025, ongoing affordability issues related to high house prices ranked top, with higher mortgage rates coming in second and the mismatch between supply and demand also cited.

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“Market conditions have been far from ideal in 2024 and buyers, in particular, have continued to face a challenging landscape, with mortgage rates remaining significantly higher than they’ve become accustomed to in recent years.

"Despite this, it has been a year of overall positivity. We’ve seen an increase in buyer activity and property values have also increased, albeit at a more measured pace

"The general consensus is that 2025 is set to bring more of the same, with the current market recovery set to continue.

"Of course, with another looming stamp duty deadline, we can expect a heightened level of activity in the short-term and this will almost certainly be followed by a period of correction as the market returns to normality. In the long-term, however, the outlook is a positive one.”