Your Guide To The Housing Market
By Katie Darlow, Owner and Director of Number One Real Estate in South Wales
2025 has hit the ground running! The first quarter has flown by and Spring is truly on its way!
Activity in Southeast Wales has definitely improved compared to last year. We saw a 34% increase in valuations in January compared to January 2024 and listing levels have definitely improved.
However, there is still a lot of competition, so pricing is key as we remain in a buyers’ market. It’s noticeable that even trying a property at £10,000 – £20,000 more than the market is dictating can be detrimental in attracting viewers and achieving that sale.
According to the latest Government House Price Index (Dec 24), prices increased by 3% at the end of 2024 which is consistent with what we’re seeing on the ground.
Prices dropped the previous year between 6-7% so we still have some recovery to make up to return to the peak of Summer ‘22 prices.
The highest growth area was Blaenau Gwent with a 9.2% increase, with Cardiff showing a 5.6% year on year increase and Newport with a 2.1% increase year on year.
In Wales, we are seeing the terraced and semi-detached properties having increased the most dramatically, with detached properties respectively having increased by 1.9%.
For the rental market, lots of accidental landlords are looking to sell and there is a shortage of rental property available which means rents are remaining strong. As in investor, there could be some great deals right now for buying a property with a tenant in situ or if you are able to find the right property, it is likely that you’ll achieve a strong yield.
Many potential buyers saved more than usual last year due to uncertainty and there is now a huge amount of excess saving in the economy which ultimately, is likely to find its way into the property market.
In January 2025, approximately 110,000 mortgages were approved which shows that the market is likely to heat up this year.
What’s the outlook for property prices this year?
We are currently sitting at the bottom of the housing cycle. The real price of an average house is the same as it was in 2003. Therefore, I’d expect to see a significant rise in mortgage lending this year.
We still remain in a buyers’ but with the market looking likely to get pretty hot this summer, especially for the ‘instagrammable’ well-presented homes.
My advice
If you are a first-time buyer, my advice would be to buy now!
Prices are likely to rise, interest rates are the most competitive they’ve been for a long time and you’re more likely to get yourself a good deal if you are viewing now than when it’s likely to get more competitive in summer. More importantly, if its in the right location, you like it and can afford it, why wait?
If you’re a seller, it’s better to be one of fewer on the market now than potentially competing against more properties this summer.
Remember that as soon as you have a proceedable offer on your home, you become that buyer in a great position to negotiate on a purchase in this buyers’ market.
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