Halifax House Price Index February 2025 – Thoughts from the Industry
The latest Halifax data shows that property prices have risen by 2.9% annually. Here are some thoughts from the Industry.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark:
“An increase in house prices is an encouraging trend that has been reflected in other recent reports. The latest Bank of England Money and Credit Report also found that mortgage lending rose to 1.8 per cent in January 2025 from 1.5 per cent in December. This should help enhance confidence as people purchase their next home.
“Propertymark looks forward to working with the UK Government on their new Planning and Infrastructure Bill and with all the devolved administrations regarding their own housing targets, which will all be central in ensuring demand and supply levels are balanced out to make housing more affordable in the long-term for the majority of aspiring homeowners.”
Tom Brown, Managing Director, Real Estate at Ingenious:
“Today’s data shows that the resilience and appeal of the UK property sector persist. Though we have seen higher inflation and sticky borrowing rates, we welcome the BoE’s recent rate cut and what will hopefully be the start of the much needed falling rate cycle.
“There’s clearly a significant and notable shortage of housing inventory across various price brackets and locations. Consequently, any decline in homeowner sales is likely counterbalanced by increased demand from renters and investors. This is a trend that is not going away. However, it’s crucial to recognise that the situation isn’t consistent nationwide or across different property pricing brackets. It’s helpful to delve into subsectors and regional dynamics when assessing opportunities, as a broad market view can be misleading. In the real estate sector, we’re seeing significant investment capital for assets for long-term rental. On account of their scale and buying power, these typically institutional investors face fewer disruptions than owner occupiers or small-scale Buy-to-let investors.
“At Ingenious, we continue to work closely with borrowers and investors, adapting to the dynamic market landscape and broader economic shifts, including those related to the climate crisis and changing lifestyles. We are expanding the reach of our development lending product to provide extended stabilisation terms for specialised developers in the rental sector. Furthermore, we’re introducing special lending terms for developers focused on reducing embedded carbon in their construction practices.”
Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners:
“Despite a rise in house prices, we believe that growth is likely to face pressure and remain steady, as higher borrowing costs start to affect buyers, despite the market’s continued resilience. Investors and developers in the residential sector remain motivated by the supply demand imbalance and under the new government, we think there will be more projects that get off the ground. We are seeing a greater variety of housing options, such as co-living schemes, coming to market which fulfil the growing requirements of younger professional buyers. If prices flatten and interest rates start to fall, we will see more first-time buyers able to step onto the property ladder.”
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