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2024 UK Property Market Round-Up

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    Your Guide to the 2024 UK Property Market

    2024 has been another exciting year for the UK property market. After a challenging 2023, the year kicked off with a strong start, and this positivity continued with a better-than-expected recovery throughout the year.

    The market was also impacted by various economic and political forces this year, including the Labour government’s first budget and the long-awaited cuts to the base rate.

    In this guide, we’ll provide a comprehensive rundown of the ever-changing landscape that was the 2024 housing market, looking into trends relating to buy-to-let property and the effects of these economic headwinds, using data from sources such as ONS, Halifax, Zoopla, and more.

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    Hand putting a coin into a jar

    Q1 - January, February, March 2024

    2024 Saw a Stronger-Than-Expected Start

    The year started off with the tail-end of 2023’s challenging conditions.

    The stunted property market performance of 2023 led to some less-than-optimistic predictions for 2024 capital growth in the first quarter, and some forecasters such as JLL and Savills anticipated a 3% decline in UK house prices throughout the year.

    However, pent-up demand due to high mortgage rates saw a boost to sales and renewed market activity at the beginning of 2024. The UK housing market improved across every significant measure during the first three months of 2024 according to analysis from Zoopla in March. Mortgage providers such as Halifax noted that the pace of annual growth signalled a positive start to 2024, with their house price index showing positive annual growth of 2.5% in January.

    Heartened by the market’s stronger-than-expected performance, some forecasters started updating their expectations. Knight Frank released a new projection in January stating that property prices could grow by 3% over 2024.

    Spring Budget

    Then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered the Spring Budget in March, but there was limited impact for the UK’s real estate market. Many commentators considered it a missed opportunity for the government to provide more incentives for property investors and alleviate the housing crisis.

    Properties in high rental demand areas command price premiums

    Q2 - April, May, June 2024

    Rental Prices Stay on Upward Trajectory

    In 2024, rental growth slowed down from the unsustainable heights of the previous year. But the growth figures remained high, as the supply-demand imbalance in the rental market continued to push the average monthly rental price to new heights.

    Tenant demand continued to ramp up and the average time on the market for a new rental property fell dramatically as renters competed for and snapped up quality homes. Savills stated in May that properties were listed for 25 days on average – ten days less than the pre-pandemic average.

    North-South Divide Became More Defined

    The overall UK market was sluggish in 2023, but a north-south divide was clear, with London and other southern regions experiencing small price dips, while many northern regions were registering marginal growth or remaining largely unchanged. This difference in performance between the North and South of England started to become even more defined throughout 2024, with northern regions such as the North West regularly registering the highest annual growth in England throughout 2024.

    Forecasts Upgraded Thanks to Favourable Conditions

    The Bank of England continued to hold the Base Rate at 5.25%, meaning the cost of borrowing remained elevated, and sensitivity to these rates caused some fluctuations in price growth. But in May, Savills noted that property market activity seemed to have mostly recovered and stabilised at around pre-pandemic levels. Rightmove’s May House Price Index showed positive momentum in the second quarter, with more buyers, sellers, and agreed sales compared to May 2023.

    Based on these favourable conditions, Savills upgraded its price growth forecast for the year and for the next five years to reflect the stronger-than-expected property market in 2024. While they predicted in November 2023 that there would be an overall decline in capital value growth of 3%, the new forecast projected positive price growth of 2.5%.

    The UK Property Market in 2025 - What's Predicted?

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    General Election 2024 sign in front of Westminster

    Q3 - July, August, September 2024

    Labour Victory in General Election

    Political certainty following the general election, combined with the long-awaited Base Rate cut, led to a positive impact on the market in the third quarter of the year.

    In July, Labour won the general election, representing a significant change for the UK property market, as the Conservatives had been in power for 14 years. The new government wasn’t shy about jumping into enacting their property-related policies, announcing that they planned to overhaul the planning system and introduce mandatory housing targets. Property experts and commentators noted that Labour’s growth agenda is positive news, but needs to be effectively delivered to have a favourable impact on the market.

    First Base Rate Cut in August

    The next month saw good news for the property market, as the Bank of England finally voted to cut the Base Rate in August, slashing it to 5%. Rightmove’s August House Price Index showed an immediate upturn in buyer activity following the announcement. The number of potential buyers that made enquiries climbed 19% compared to the previous August, and agreed sales were 16% higher than the previous year when mortgage rates were near their peak.

    Nationwide’s House Price Index revealed that August saw the fastest pace of annual property price growth since December 2022, providing more evidence for recovery and resilience in the UK property market following short-term challenges in the past three years.

    Required EPC Rating for Rentals to Change to ‘C’ by 2030

    The other big talking point of the second half of 2024 was the government’s proposal to change the minimum required EPC rating for private rental properties. During a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September, Ed Miliband confirmed intentions to change legislation so that the new minimum rating will be ‘C’, up from the current ‘E’, by 2030.

    Download Our Guide to Read More

    The rest of this property market round-up guide can be downloaded for free – simply enter your details below to carry on reading about the key things that happened to the UK market in October, November, and December.

    The full PDF guide contains even more in-depth analysis and information for the whole year, as well as a rundown of the final quarter of 2024, and some expert predictions for 2025.

    Enter your details below to receive the full RWinvest UK Property Market Round-Up Guide for 2024!

    The 2024 UK Property Market Roundup Guide

    What happened to the UK property market throughout 2024, and what can we expect in 2025? Download our handy 2024 market roundup guide now for key insight.

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      Author

      Jessica Ferris

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      Jessica Ferris is a property writer at RWinvest, helping our readers stay ahead of property market trends with the latest news and statistics.

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