By Steve Cook FNAEA – Clarke Gammon
The latest Land Registry House Price Index for December 2024 shows average UK house price annual inflation was 4.6% in the 12 months to December 2024, up from the revised estimate of 3.9% in the 12 months to November 2024.
This equates to the average UK house price being £268,000 in December 2024, which is £12,000 higher than 12 months ago. Although the month on month trend was down by 0.1% but this number has also been reduced due to changes in the Land Registry’s methodology.
For local Surrey and Hampshire property owners these numbers can be misleading, as I am often quoted these statistics by local would be sellers when valuing their property. Media reporting always looks for attention grabbing headlines to attract readers, so the Land Registry reports headline confirming annual house price increases, was just too good an opportunity for them to miss.
Reading the full report confirms that annual price growth was highest in the North East, where prices increased on average by 6.7% in the 12 months to December 2024. Whilst London was the English region with the lowest annual inflation, where prices were flat across the year. In the South East, the average increase was 4.4% in the 12 months to December 2024.
Another significant factor the index highlights is how the type of property affects the increase, with semi detached houses showing the biggest increase nationally at 5.6% from December 2023 to December 2024 and for the same period, Flats and Maisonettes only increased 2.3%.
The Land Registry index may seem historic now, but gives an indication of the whole market as it includes both cash and mortgaged deals. It is by far the most comprehensive of all the market house-price indexes, as unlike other indexes from financial institutions that only include mortgaged properties, the Land Registry also includes the 40% or so of transactions that are arranged without finance.
Personally, I find the index fascinating, and whilst it is a bit dated, reading beyond the headline numbers, the data shows just how resilient the housing market was at the end of last year, despite buyers and sellers having had to come to terms with the market realities of slower than previously anticipated falls in borrowing costs.
It also helps our understanding of how the market is likely to perform in 2025, to date we’ve not seen or are we likely to see any significant changes in property prices, although with inflation edging upwards, the expected further interest rate cuts are likely to support an increase market activity as well as the crucially important buyer and seller confidence.
Selling your home in 2025?
With the current number of properties available for sale at the highest level they’ve been in a decade, there are currently 13% more new sellers coming to market compared to this time last year. So it’s safe to say that we are seeing a strong buyers market.
The local market remains strong in terms of active buyers, but more so now than in recent years, property must be correctly priced. This strategy is not helped by the sort of headlines above that talk the price up, as these are last years numbers. Today’s reality is that the asking price in a buyers market will determine whether buyers will view a property or not.
Owners with high expectations, that price their homes high are almost always disappointed. Our advice is to be cautious when pricing your home, and do not be tempted to be overly optimistic.
Recently Listed homes
Here are a selection of some of our most recently listed homes for sale –
House for Sale in Liphook – Guide Price £789,950
House for Sale in Guildford – £1,725,000
House for Sale in Hammer Vale – Guide Price £795,000
House for Sale in Guildford – Guide Price £650,000
House for Sale in Liphook – Guide Price £725,000
House for Sale in Haslemere – Guide Price £465,000
To see the very latest homes coming to the market, click ‘New to market homes’, this lists all of the very latest homes as they come to the market.
If you are considering a move we have demand for property in and around the towns and villages covered by our offices in Guildford, Haslemere and Liphook with many motivated buyers looking for a new home.
Please feel free to to contact any of our offices, either for an informal chat about the market and how we might help you with this or to book a market appraisal.
Why not try our instant online valuation tool?
Steve Cook FNAEA Senior Consultant – Clarke Gammon
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