Buyer demand declined by 8% year-on-year and sales agreed dropped by 3%

The housing market saw its first annual decline in new sales in two years as buyers held back, according to Zoopla’s latest House Price Index (HPI).

Uncertainty around the November Budget led many buyers to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.

Buyer demand declined by 8% year-on-year and sales agreed dropped by 3%.

The pre-Christmas slowdown hit 6 to 8 weeks early, made worse by a strong end to 2024 when many rushed to complete before Stamp Duty relief ended in April 2025.

There are now 7% more homes for sale than a year ago, but performance varied across regions.

Sales were up in Scotland, Yorkshire and the Humber, the South West and the West Midlands, ranging from 1% to 4% higher.

However, the South and Wales saw steeper declines, with Wales down 9%, the South East down 8%, the East of England down 6% and London down 5%.

House price growth slowed over 2025, now at 1.3%, similar to a year ago.

The average UK home now stands at £270,000, up £3,600 over the last year.

The slowdown was most notable in homes over £500,000, especially in the South.

Tax speculation, including possible changes to council tax, replacing Stamp Duty with an annual property tax, and introducing capital gains tax (CGT) on homes over £1.5 million, led early-stage buyers to pause their search.

Price growth has nearly stalled in southern regions.

In contrast, it remained over 2% in Scotland, Wales and the North.

The total sales pipeline reached nearly 350,000 homes worth more than £100 billion, the highest in four years.

The average time to sell is now 37 days, 10% longer than last year, and up to 45 days in London.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: The housing market is experiencing a slowdown in activity but there are still serious sellers looking to buy homes and secure their next home purchase.

Buying a home is a lengthy process and there are a record number of homes for sale which means lots of buyers looking for their next home, he said.

The slowdown is modest and less severe than the impact of the 2022 mini budget, he said.