Halifax reveals last year’s regional rises and falls and what the property market may have in store for 2025.
House prices decreased slightly in December, according to Halifax. The latest figures from the lender showed that prices went down by 0.2% in December, but annually they went up by 3.3%. The average property now costs £297,166.
‘Prices fell back slightly in December by 0.2% following five consecutive monthly increases,’ says Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax. ‘The housing market was broadly steady at the start of 2024, with house price growth taking off from the summer onwards. In the latter half of the year, house prices grew in response to the falls in mortgage rates, alongside income growth, both leading to financial pressures somewhat easing for buyers.
Bryden adds: ‘Impending changes to stamp duty thresholds have also given first-time buyers even greater motivation to get on the housing ladder and bring any home-buying plans forward.’
Key areas for house price growth
Looking back at last year, in the 12 months to September 2024, the biggest house price growth was seen in Stoke-on-Trent, where prices surged by an impressive 17.2%. This means it emerged as the best-performing area for house price growth in the UK housing market. Following closely behind, Slough experienced a rise of 14.9% in house prices, while in Oldham, the cost of a home increased by 14.6%. Research from Halifax earlier this year found that more than seven in 10 (73%) of house purchases in Slough were made by first-time buyers.
Conversely, the cost of a home fell most in Huddersfield, by 6.6% – and this after the area topped the house price growth table in 2023.
Regionally, the South East was the area with the smallest percentage growth in average house prices, at 1.8%, with several London Boroughs also experiencing some of the lowest house price growth over the period, including Ealing, Southwark and Harrow.
‘Some areas of the UK – including Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Dunfermline – have seen remarkable house price growth this year, as buyers perhaps seek out more affordable areas where house prices, despite increases, are still coming in under the national average,’ explains Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax. ‘This trend is causing house prices in some areas to flip from slowing to growing, such as Stoke-on-Trent, which was the biggest faller last year but showed the highest rate of growth regionally this year.
High asking prices in London
‘That story doesn’t play out nationally. The high asking price for London properties means house prices have fallen in several boroughs – perhaps a reflection that the relatively high cost of properties is stretching affordability for buyers, or perhaps what they are willing to pay.
‘Regionally, while the South East has seen some robust growth – in places like Basingstoke and Maidstone – overall, it is lagging behind the rest of the UK, with movement of just 1.8%, compared to 6.3% for the UK overall. Much like London, first-time buyers won’t find a bargain here, as the slow growth is likely a consequence of the already-high property prices, relative to the national average.’
Looking at predictions for 2025, Bryden says buyer demand should hold up relatively well, provided employment conditions don’t deteriorate markedly.