Welcome to the second UK Property Market Stats Show of 2025, which unpicks the latest property market trends.
This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by the brilliant Verona Frankish, CEO of Yopa, one of the UK’s largest estate agency brands, to delve into the key property market headlines for Week 2 of 2025.
Before we dive in, a quick note: since 2025’s first full week started later (on Monday, 6th January 2025), some figures this year appear significantly higher compared to previous years. This anomaly will smooth out as January progresses.
UK Property Market Highlights – Week 2 of 2025
Listings (New Properties on the Market)
+ 33.7k new listings this week.
+ That’s 19% higher than Week 2 of 2024 YTD and 18% higher YTD compared to 2017/18/19.
Price Reductions (% of Resi Stock)
+ 7.8% of residential sales stock reduced in December (monthly figure).
+ Down from 11.1% in November and 11.9% average in 2024, though the long-term 5-year average is 10.6%.
+ December traditionally sees a dip in this metric. Graph 5
Total Gross Sales (Agreed Sales)
+ 23.8k UK homes sold STC this week, up from 19.2k in Week 1.
+ That’s 48% higher YTD compared to 2024 and 8.7% higher than 2017/18/19 YTD levels.
Sale-Through Rate (Monthly)
+ 10.61% of residential sales stock sold in December 2024, compared to 8.79% in December 2023.
+ 2024 monthly average: 15.3%. Long-term 7-year average: 17.9%.
Sale Fall-Throughs
+ 25.4% of gross sales fell through this week – slightly above the 7-year average of 24.2%, but well below the 40%+ levels post-Truss Budget (Autumn 2022).
+ On a monthly basis, 3.8% of the December 2024 sales pipeline fell through (2024 average: 5.36%).
Net Sales
+ 17.7k net sales this week, compared to a typical weekly average of 14.3k.
+ That’s 54% higher YTD compared to 2024 and 60% higher than YTD 2017/18/19.
Residential Sales Stock on the Market
+ 605k properties on the market at the end of December 2024 (down from 677k in November).
+ Historical comparison for December 2024:
+ 2023: 560k
+ 2022: 481k
+ 2021: 342k
+ 2020: 543k
+ 2019: 545k.
Residential Sales Sold STC Pipeline
+ 441k sales agreed but not yet completed at the end of December.
+ Historical comparison for December 2024:
+ 2023: 359k
+ 2022: 373k
+ 2021: 468k
+ 2020: 548k
+ 2019: 310k. Graph 30
UK House Prices (£/sq.ft)
+ As always, the £/sq.ft metric predicts Land Registry figures 5 months in advance with 92% accuracy
+ December’s final figure: £339/sq.ft.
+ November: £342/sq.ft
+ August: £334/sq.ft
+ December 2023: £322/sq.ft
+ This means house prices have risen 5.28% in the last 12 months.
Local Focus – Luton
Don’t miss our deep dive into the property market in Luton this week, where we uncover the stats and trends shaping this local market.
Verona Frankish and I discussed the hot topic of ethical overvaluing. Can there ever be a middle ground between pricing to attract buyers and meeting seller expectations? With price reductions still hovering at 7.8% of stock, how much is caused by overpricing?
Ethical overvaluing involves setting realistic strategies with sellers, such as reviewing the price within weeks if needed – but is this really common practice in estate agency?
Are agents managing client expectations properly, or are too many overpromising and underdelivering? Let’s hear your thoughts – how do you strike a balance?
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the over pricing is 100% due to listers hitting targets knowing full well the property won’t sell but other staff will pressure the vendor in to reducing the price, normally within 4 weeks. I had an operations director of a 50+ branch agency ask me on an interview if i was prepared to overvalue just to secure the instruction. I asked him if that was best advice for the vendor and he replied, thats not important, we look to secure the instruction and the get the price reduced during the term of our agency agreement, and then we’ll sell it……………….not my style sorry.
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Are Agents Delivering on Their Promises?
One of the most revealing stats this week is the sale-through rate – how many listed properties actually exchange. The UK average sits at 53.2%, but some agents are achieving far more, with others lagging behind. It begs the question: are some agents overvaluing to win instructions, knowing fewer homes will sell?
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When I was still an agent I tried what I think you mean by “ethical overvaluing”. With the relevant evidence to hand I would tell the owner that their property was worth between X & Y but given the market conditions they should ask Z. I would then discuss review dates and etcetera.
Every vendor appreciated this advice and usually agreed with me, both on price and approach.
BUT
Then came along the next valuer who would look them dead in the eye with superb confidence and promise them that Z was probably the minimum they should expect and sign them up to a 3 month contract at a stupid low fee.
My boss at the time insisted that I call every valuation I had lost on a weekly basis to try and persuade the owner to switch agents. I discovered that this had the effect of generating price reductions for the other agent so they could sell it themselves.
I told my boss this but I think he struggled to hear the reality of the situation.
Needless to say, the valuer that took my job when I left followed the “new normal” tactic.
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Interesting
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