Skip to content

The Housing Market: March 2025 and Beyond

Another stamp duty deadline is looming, and we all remember the chaos from our pandemic days quite vividly. It's a topic that still comes up often when I speak to property lawyers and conveyancers with shared shudders of horror. Are you preparing for a similar impact this March? 

Let's look at all that could impact the 2025 housing market.  

Stamp Duty Relief Ends  

I'm sure you're well aware of what's going to happen in March, so I won't go into great detail - you can read all the details here if you need a refresher: Government Stamp Duty Land Tax Page 

Personally, I don't expect the same level of chaos this time around, nor do the people in my immediate network 

  • The stamp duty relief isn’t as advantageous as the stamp duty holiday, so buyers aren’t as concerned if they don’t complete by the 31st of March  
  • Technology in the conveyancing industry has evolved exponentially enabling the digitalisation of case management, searches, title reports etc. 

I do still expect a spike in activity in February and March but after March the market will stabilise rather than drop off like it did in 2021.  

Stamp Duty and the Rental Market  

In addition to the stamp duty relief coming to an end, Rachel Reeves introduced a 2% stamp duty increase (from 3% to 5%) for those buying second homes. The sector has already taken several hits in recent years with tax changes, regulation changes, mortgage rate increases etc. Since 2016, we have already seen over 400,000 buy-to-let landlords bow out of the market due to financial and legislative decisions making their investments non-viable.    

According to a report from the English Private Landlord Survey (EPLS): In 2024, 31% of landlords reported planning to decrease the size of their portfolio in the next two years, including 16% who were planning to sell all their properties. Compared to 22% planning to decrease their portfolio size in 2021 and 16% in 2018.  

This latest blow could again increase the number of landlords leaving the market and make it even more challenging for tenants already struggling with decreased supply and surging rental prices. 

How will all this affect house prices? 

The agencies are reporting expected house price growth for 2025 with a little disparity between whether it is an increase of 2.5% or 4%; this data of course could be accounting for regional differences. Alternatively, prices could see a slight decrease to align with the reduced stamp duty thresholds. 

Where do we go from here?  

 At the end of the day, I'm an optimistic person so I am hopeful that the economic environment will improve overall in 2025. Home buyers are coming to terms with the fact that living with some uncertainty is the new norm and just getting on with it.  

All signs are pointing to a busy 2025 and I say - bring it on! I know solicitors and conveyancers were pushed hard last year - so if we are looking at an increase in housing market activity in 2025, how is everyone planning to cope?  

We can’t all move to a deserted island to avoid the chaos, but we can find ways to make our lives easier. 

In the words of Mrs Doubtfire, “Help is on the way dear!”   

For our part, Legal & Contingency have a quick and easy to use Ci Online platform. Seriously, if you’re not already using us, go have a look. We have a great team on hand to help if you have any questions.  

And if you can’t get what you need online, we’ve been streamlining our processes resulting in a wide range of risks that can still be quoted in minutes. That's one less thing to hold up your transaction! (Shameless plug over)  

Only time will tell what impact the stamp duty changes will have for 2025. In the meantime, other topics I’m keeping on my radar include the impact of the Building Safety Act, the new TA6 Form changes, Renters’ Rights Bill, and Energy Efficiency regulations that are rumoured to be coming to play in 2025. But that's for another post... 

Leave a Comment