With house prices rising across the UK, new figures suggest that the Northwest is increasingly popular with both buy-to-let and residential buyers.
In this article, we’ll examine the strength of the property market at the end of last year and which areas are attracting buyers during the first weeks of 2025.
The UK housing market remained resilient throughout 2024, as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) demonstrated in its December 2024 RICS Residential Market Survey (1).
The survey reaches out to a sentiment of Chartered Surveyors operating within both the residential and lettings markets. Its results are presented as a ‘net balance’, which is arrived at by presenting the proportion of respondents reporting a rise in prices minus those reporting a fall.
If, for example, 25% of respondents report a rise to the question ‘How have new buyer enquiries changed over the last month? (down/ same/ up)’ and 5% report a fall, the Net Balance will be 20%.
In its December 2024 Residential Market Survey (Published 10th January 2025), +28% of RICS survey respondents reported a rise in house prices from December – slightly higher than November’s increase of +24%.
The rate and consistency of house price increases varied across the UK, with Northern Ireland and Scotland showing significant house prices.
The North and Northwest regions experienced the most pronounced increases in house prices in England. This was demonstrated by strong growth in December 2024, following a similar trend for the previous three months.
Furthermore, according to the Zoopla House Price Index, house price inflation has increased significantly across the North of England in 2024 compared to 2023, suggesting that the market in the area is truly booming.
Although house prices are one indicator of housing market performance, other factors, such as homeowner enquiries and new vendor instructions, help to provide a more complete picture when combined with sale prices.
Broadly speaking, house prices, vendor instructions, and homeowner enquiries were all up during December 2024. However, regional variations become more apparent when comparing these values.
For example, while each of the North and Northwestern regions showed rises in house prices, the North experienced a significant drop in homeowner enquiries and new vendor instructions during December 2024.
Conversely, respondents in the Northwest reported a rise in both homeowner enquiries and new vendor instructions.
Such a buoyant market with high levels of buyer interest will come as good news for those looking to sell property in the region. If you are looking to sell your home, contact our local experts on the link below for a free property valuation.
The letting market in the Northwest is also driving a greater demand for property in the region. According to respondents, data from RICS shows that tenant demand remains broadly flat across the UK, with a net balance of -3%.
However, this picture is reversed in the North and Northwest where tenant demand is increasing. This represents a great opportunity for landlords seeking to expand their rental portfolios, but it will also mean greater competition locally for homebuyers.
With the property market performing well during 2024, all eyes will now be on housing prices during the first weeks of the new year.
Fortunately for both buyers and sellers alike, January is proving to be a bumper month for the housing market with high volumes of homes coming to market and increasing buyer interest.
Figures show that the number of new properties coming to market is 11% ahead of the same period at the start of last year (2). This is driving an increase in buyer enquiries, but also greater competition for sellers.
The good news for sellers is that the number of buyers coming to market is 9% up on the same period last year, meaning that the number of agreed sales between buyers and sellers is also up by 11%.
For sellers in the Northwest, the opportunity to achieve a sale could be even greater as landlords seek to take advantage of the high numbers of renters looking for homes locally.
Property vendors can also find further optimism in figures that show that house price inflation was 3.5% higher across the Northwest between November 2023 and November 2024 (3).
With so much traction across the region, many areas across the Northwest are being treated as top prospects by industry experts – and it seems buyers agree.
Edward Mellor has been helping people buy and sell property for over 40 years. Whether you are looking to buy at auction, selling on the open market or managing buy-to-let properties, our friendly experts can help you achieve your property goals.
Contact us using the link below to find your local branch and begin your property journey today.
(1) Residential Market Survey RICS December 2024
(2) https://propertyindustryeye.com/new-seller-asking-prices-rise-again-amid-growing-demand/
(3) https://propertyindustryeye.com/where-will-house-prices-rise-the-most-in-the-uk-in-2025/
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