The Guild says – The engine of the market – transactions – remains strong
Gareth Samples, CEO of The Property Franchise Group, comments: “The latest Halifax data, indicating a welcome uptick in house price growth, suggests the market is not just recalibrating after a period of intense activity, but also building positive momentum. A combination of factors, such as easing mortgage rates, rising stock levels, and the cooling of post-deadline buyer urgency, are creating a more balanced and now slightly strengthening environment for both buyers and sellers.
“Encouragingly, we’re still seeing strong underlying resilience in the market. Sales volumes remain robust, with a snapshot of the post-stamp-duty market suggesting movers are carrying on and have adjusted to the tax rise. The level of agreed sales falling through remains steady, with most buyers who missed the deadline still proceeding.
“Crucially, there are more sales being agreed than a year ago, alongside an uptick in available homes, which is essential for long-term market health. This subtle strengthening in annual price growth a sign of the return to sustainable and confident market conditions.
“Looking ahead, we expect house pricing to stabilise, further supported by mortgage affordability gradually improving with falling rates and growing confidence around future base rate cuts. Time-to-sell metrics are also improving, with Rightmove data showing the average property took 64 days to sell in March, down significantly from January. With sales volumes on track for a potential 5% uplift in 2025, we remain optimistic about market performance through the summer and beyond.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, comments: “Excellent news from the Bank of England. This decision to cut the base rate is a welcome boost for homebuyers and the wider property market. We’ve already seen mortgage rates easing, with sub-4% deals re-emerging, and this will only fuel that positive momentum, making homeownership more attainable.
“Despite global uncertainties, mover activity remains resilient, and with strong housing supply and sales agreed up year-on-year, the market is adapting well. This rate cut will further underpin confidence, supporting the forecast of a 5% uplift in sales volumes this year, particularly as we see the time to sell quickening. It’s a clear green light for those considering a move.”
Regarding the latest Halifax data, he said it is, “indicating a continued positive momentum in house price growth, points towards a market that is not only maintaining its strength but also developing a sustainable and balanced footing. While a period of recalibration was expected after the significant, stamp duty-driven surge in March, this underlying resilience is encouraging.
“What’s crucial to highlight are the underlying positive trends supporting this. We’re seeing mortgage rates continue their welcome descent, with sub-4% deals now reappearing, which is a clear boost for buyer affordability and confidence. Despite persistent higher-than-expected inflation, the International Monetary Fund’s more optimistic outlook on interest rate cuts further underpins this positive sentiment.
“While buyer demand has understandably settled from the pre-deadline frenzy, it remains robustly above last year’s levels. More importantly, stock levels are up significantly, offering buyers greater choice, and agreed sales are also higher year-on-year. This increased activity is also reflected in faster selling times, with properties now moving much quicker than at the start of the year.
“The engine of the market – transactions – remains strong. We anticipate this trend of steady, and perhaps even slightly firmer, price growth to continue, potentially settling in the 1.5-2.5% range annually. Critically, sales volumes are on track for a healthy 5% uplift this year. This isn’t a market grinding to a halt; it’s a market demonstrating sustained activity and finding a sensible equilibrium, which is good news for both serious buyers and sellers in the long run.”
Interestingly the Bank of England helpfully for the housing market has just published its thoughts on – ‘Why are interest rates high and how quickly might they fall? (even more).
‘We (BoE) began raising interest rates at the end of 2021 to help reduce inflation. It is working. Inflation has fallen a lot and inflationary pressures have eased enough that: in August 2024, we cut the interest rate from 5.25% to 5%, in November, we cut it from 5% to 4.75%, in February 2025, we cut it to 4.5%, and, in May, (today) we cut it to 4.25%
If those pressures continue to ease, we should be able to reduce interest rates further over time. But we can’t say precisely when or by how much. That depends on how the situation evolves. So, we will monitor the British economy and global developments (such as changes in trade policies) very closely, and take a gradual and careful approach to reducing rates further.
We make our decision on interest rates every six weeks or so. Each time, we look at the state of the economy and recent global developments, and what we expect for the coming months. The factors we consider include: how fast prices are rising, how the UK’s economy is growing, how many people are in work.
We will announce our next decision on Thursday 19 June 2025. You can see our full list of upcoming dates along with links to our more detailed reports’.
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Andrew Stanton Founder & Editor of 'PROPTECH-X' where his insights, connections, analysis and commentary on proptech and real estate are based on writing 1.3M words annually. Plus meeting 1,000 Proptech founders, critiquing 400 decks and having had 130 clients as CEO of 'PROPTECH-PR', a consultancy for Proptech founders seeking growth and exit strategies. He also acts as an advisory for major global real estate companies on sales, acquisitions, market positioning & operations. With 200K followers & readers, he is the 'Proptech Realestate Influencer.'
- Andrew Stantonhttps://proptech-x.com/author/andrew-stanton/
- Andrew Stantonhttps://proptech-x.com/author/andrew-stanton/
- Andrew Stantonhttps://proptech-x.com/author/andrew-stanton/
- Andrew Stantonhttps://proptech-x.com/author/andrew-stanton/
