Insight: The Housing Market - March 2025

After a very buoyant start to the year, this month’s Halifax House Price Index, demonstrates the resilience of the housing market. Figures have remained largely steady from last month, but the push to move before the stamp duty changes in April is now waning.

Wider socioeconomic confidence remains challenging, but within this, the housing market remains strong. There are excellent opportunities for both buyers and sellers.

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

The Headline Stats and Facts

• Average selling price: £298,602, virtually the same as last month with a -0.1% change, but with a +1.0% quarterly change.
• Property price increases: Annual rate of growth is strong at +2.9%. 
• Interest rates: 4.5% (down from 4.75% on 6^th February).
• Inflation: 3%, pushing up slightly from the target 2%.
• RICS net balance score: The RICS data is positive even though buyer demand and sales have both eased slightly. New buyer enquiries are steady with a net balance of zero. Agreed sales are at 3%. New instructions are very strong at +25% compared to +14% last month, and representing seven successive positive reports. 

Kent-Specific Stats

• Average time on market: Properties in Kent currently spend an average of 175 days on the market, up from 162 days this time last year, but steady with last month.  
• Number of properties for sale: The number of properties for sale is up +11% on this time last year. In numbers terms, with 19,996 properties for sale, this is very similar to last month.   
• Average selling price in Kent: £420,408 which is holding very steady with last month’s figure of £420,373.

What Does This Mean?

Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax, explains the stability of the UK housing market by saying,

“While house price growth has slowed overall, market activity remains strong and comparable to pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating a resilience amongst buyers that’s been evident in the face of higher borrowing costs.

While those affordability challenges persist, the ongoing shortage of housing supply coupled with sustained demand suggests property prices will continue to rise this year, albeit at a more measured pace compared to last year.”

It’s understandable that early in the year there was a flurry of interest as buyers, particularly first-time buyers, worked to buy before stamp duty returns to previous thresholds in April. Owing to the amount of time it takes to actually move, the impact of this is waning. Outside of this, what we are seeing is a solid and robust market that has remained consistent and stable of late.

What About Kent?

For some time last year, Kent, in line with other areas in the South East saw property prices dropping. This was despite buoyant national averages. However, more recently, Kent has bounced back solidly and prices are stable and even nudging slightly upwards.

As this recovery gained momentum, we saw particular movement in property prices and reduced time on market for smaller properties. While this trend remains true, it’s now a more stable picture across different property types. There still remains considerable difference between areas in Kent. For example, average property prices in Knockhatch are nearly four times more expensive than those in Queenborough.

The number of properties available for sale in Kent overall is high at 19,996, which is +11% up on last year. It’s a positive time for the Kent market and both buyers and sellers have plenty of opportunity.

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