March Market Update

February may have been only four weeks long but it was packed with property news. Here are 12 things we learnt about sales and lettings last month.

1) House prices increased: February was when the Office for National Statistics released its latest report. With a year of analysis complete, it was able to confirm that house prices rose 4.6% in 2024. We continue in 2025 with a new UK house price average of £280,000.

Price barrier could be broken 

2) Heading for £300,000?: with two months of sales figures behind us, thoughts have turned to how house prices may behave during the rest of 2025. West One Loans stuck its head above the parapet to claim the average house price could hit £303,913.

Movers remain keen

3) Rightmove’s report showed momentum: the portal’s February House Price Index revealed more buyers and sellers are propelling the market towards spring. There’s an 8% increase in buyer demand and a 13% increase in new sellers, when compared to 12 months ago.

4) Newly agreed rents drop slightly: rental values for newly agreed UK tenancies are decreasing. HomeLet’s most recent rental index showed a 1% drop in the last 4-week reporting period, equating to an average of just £13 less rent each month.

5) More buy-to-let choice: new borrowers and remortgaging landlords now have the biggest choice of buy-to-let loans since 2011. These were the findings of Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, who analysed the number of deals in the market. The wider choice applies to both 2- and 5-year fixed-rate products.

6) Eye catching yields: landlords are enjoying yields that have reached a 14-year high. Analysis by Paragon Bank found the average yield is 6.93%. Wales (8.09%), the North West (7.84%) and the South West (7.75%) were the top three performers.

7) Landlords feel optimistic: despite changes in the rental sector, landlords are taking it all in their stride. The latest Landlord Trends report produced by Pegasus Insight discovered 37% of landlords questioned said they felt ‘good’ or ‘very good’ about their prospects. This is a higher rate of confidence than measured a year ago.  

8) England & Wales EPC updates: The Government used February to confirm its EPC reform proposals. As well as reiterating that all privately rented properties would need an EPC of C by 2030, it said there would be a new EPC system with revised metrics in the second half of 2026. The maximum investment cap applied to a landlord’s energy efficiency work will also rise from £10,000 per property to £15,000.

News north of the border

9) EPC announcement in Scotland: the Scottish Government is also pressing ahead with its own EPC reforms. The validity period of EPCs will reduce from 10 to 5 years, while the certificate will go digital. New categories will be added - heating system and heat retention – with the latter becoming the EPC’s new headline figure. 

10) Mortgage approvals pick up pace: new analysis of Bank of England data showed the volume of mortgage approvals is on the up. There was a 30.8% increase when comparing 2024’s figures with 2023’s. Mortgage broker Alexander Hall forecasts a 13.4% increase in mortgage approvals this year.

Plant knowledge lacking

11) Mistaken identity rife: data analysis from Environet’s Free ID Service found the public regularly mistakes harmless garden plants for invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed. The findings highlight the importance of a professional report by an accredited plant company.

12) High values in the hills: analysis published by PropertyReporter declared which type of street was the most valuable. Using Land Registry’s sold data, homes with ‘Hill’ in the address commanded the highest price. Hill was followed by ‘Gardens’, ‘Lane’, ‘Park’ and ‘Green’.

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