Insight: The Housing Market - April 2025

The start of 2025 had a somewhat unusual boost to buying and selling activity owing to the dash to complete before the March stamp duty deadline. The result was that Halifax experienced its busiest ‘completions’ day on record in March. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the market is swinging back to more normal levels now that this flurry has passed.

This month’s Halifax House Price Index reveals a softening in the market, especially in light of ongoing economic uncertainty. But this is against a strong background of resilience and solid ground.

Of course, since the report was compiled, it’s been a challenging time on the global economic stage with the announcement of US tariffs. With talk of global recession, it’s likely that next month we will see caution reflected in the UK housing market as people wait and see as to what unfolds.

Here we look at the housing market data on a national and Kent level.

The Headline Stats and Facts

• Average selling price: £296,699. While this is a -0.5% monthly change, it’s a +0.5% quarterly change.
• Property price increases: Annual rate of growth is close to last month at +2.8% (was +2.9%). 
• Interest rates: 4.5% (down from 4.75% on 6^th February).
• Inflation: Down slightly from last month (3%) to 2.8%.
• RICS net balance score: RICS data shows that now the stamp duty surge is over, we're looking at a quieter market. New buyer enquiries are down to -14% (from -1%) and agreed sales are down to -13% (from +2%). However, new instructions remain buoyant at +12%, leading to eight consecutive months in positive territory. 

Kent-Specific Stats

• Average time on market: Properties in Kent currently spend an average of 170 days on the market, up +6% on this time last year.
• Number of properties for sale: The number of properties for sale is up +15% on this time last year, with 21,205 properties for sale. It’s worth noting that 46% of these properties for sale are one or two bedroom properties.   
• Average selling price in Kent: £423,735 which is marginally up on last month (£420,408).  

What Does This Mean?

Predictions accompanying the latest Halifax House Price Report are that the year will continue to unfold with modest rises in house prices, despite the economic challenges ahead and the stamp duty rush being behind us. However, it is worth noting that this latest data reflects the state of play pre-Trump’s tariff announcements which have had such a detrimental impact on global markets.

New buyers had left the market before Donald Trump's bombshell on tariffs. The market was already set to quieten down and the added political & economic uncertainty is likely to have a significant negative effect. Along with the continued belt-tightening on UK soil the 2025 housing market looks challenging. Sometimes stock market falls notably impact the top of the market negatively, while spurring movement in more affordable property. However, with global recession being floated, the housing market may be affected overall. It's worth watching out for next month's new buyer data to see if we're right on this.

What About Kent?

Kent has had a positive month, with average house prices increasing +£3,327. This is against a backdrop of the national average falling -£1,575. The South East has generally been lagging behind the rest of the country, so these positive figures show the resilience and rebound of the local market.

What’s particularly notable in Kent at present is the large swathe of one and two bedroom properties now on the market. While it’s conceivable that much of this was in response to trying to beat the stamp duty changes, it demonstrates a lot of activity at the lower end of the market.

Current data shows that it is a good time for both buyers and sellers in Kent.

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