December Property Market Analysis

We can look back at November knowing some things stayed the same. Stamp duty, council tax bands A to E and a trio of taxes – corporation, inheritance and capital gains – were untouched in the Autumn Budget. That doesn’t mean the property market stood still.

There was asking price movement. With more homes for sale than at any point in the last decade, sellers are adjusting their expectations. When it monitored asking prices across its site, Rightmove found the UK average fell 1.8% last month. The average price of a home coming to market is now £364,833.

Values on completion

Each month, Zoopla chooses to focus on average sold prices and there’s always disparity as the figure includes cash and auction sales, as well as those on the open market. Its latest house price index was published in November but reflects activity in October.

Annual increases prevail

The portal says the average house price in the UK is £270,200. Values are still creeping up annually, with the latest data pointing to a 1.3% increase over the past year. This is equal to an average of £3,340 added to a property’s worth.

The increases were not across the board, however. Northern England regions, Wales and Scotland led the house price inflation charge. These areas saw house prices increase between 1.9% and 2.7%. London, the South East and the South West all recorded minor price decreases (no more than 0.2%). 

We do expect values to hold firm (and potentially rise a little) now the Budget is out the way. The mansion tax will affect fewer than 1% of homes and stamp duty wasn’t shifted to sellers of homes worth more than £500,000. This gives movers confidence to proceed. 

Rightmove’s November report indicated momentum never actually went away in the run up to the Chancellor’s announcement. While some movers paused their searches, a healthy number of deals were done. The portal found the number of sales agreed last month was up 4% when compared to November 2024.

As well as the Budget’s minimal impact on property, November saw a mortgage boost for buyers. A price war broke out between major lenders, with HSBC, Santander, TSB, NatWest and Principality Building Society all cutting their home loan rates. The action saw average mortgage rates dip below 5% (4.99% as of 3rd November, according to Moneyfacts).

Year-on-year rent rises

Cooling asking prices and sold values are to be expected at this time of year – especially ahead of a Budget – but how did November treat the rental market? Well, the bigger picture differs from the month-on-month figures.

HomeLet’s latest rental index shows the average rent for newly agreed tenancies has enjoyed an upward trajectory in 2025, rising 2.3% in the last 12 months. When the more granular figures are scrutinised, we noted rents in the last monthly monitoring period were down 0.6%. Newly agreed UK tenancies are now costing renters £1,337 per month.

Scottish rents present a conundrum 

One place where tenants are paying more is Scotland and it’s a contentious point. The country’s rent controls appear to have failed. The cap, which was designed to stop rents rising, has had the opposite effect. HomeLet’s figures revealed Scottish rents have risen 2.8% in the last year.

Wider analysis of rental activity across Scotland, reported by Property Industry Eye, was very telling. To date this year, 67% of landlords with buy-to-lets in Scotland increased the rent when possible. This was the highest figure in the UK and above the 58% of landlords who did so across Great Britain as a whole.

If you would like to know more about your local property market, please get in touch.