Housing market activity has ramped up compared with summer 2024, bucking the usual seasonal slowdown, according to a property website.
But despite the more bustling market, Zoopla’s house price forecast for 2025 has halved, with the website saying that buyers are factoring increased stamp duty costs into their offers.
Buyer demand is 11% higher compared with a year earlier, accompanied by an 8% increase in agreed sales, Zoopla said.
Its figures compared the four weeks to June 20 2025 with the same period in 2024.
The website said buyers have been looking to finalise deals before the August holidays slowdown.
Recent changes to the way lenders assess mortgage affordability have been supporting housing market activity, it said. The changes, which followed clarification from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will enable some mortgage borrowers to take out bigger loans.
But Zoopla added that higher stamp duty costs in England and Northern Ireland, following the end of temporary reliefs in April, are acting as a drag on house price inflation.
Buyers will be looking to reflect increased stamp duty costs in what they offer for homes, it said.
Due to higher house prices, stamp duty costs tend to have a bigger effect on buyers in southern England than in other areas, Zoopla added.
The average UK house price was put at £268,400 – 1.3% higher than a year earlier.
Although price growth is up from 0.4% last June, it has nearly halved from the 2.1% seen just six months ago in December 2024, according to the report.
Scotland, Wales and northern England are generally experiencing faster house price inflation, typically between 2% to 3% annually, Zoopla said.
It said Northern Ireland is a “standout,” with prices up by 6.1% and by 7.8% in Belfast, albeit from a lower base.
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Southern England is seeing the weakest price inflation, ranging from 0.2% in the South East and London to 0.3% in the South West.
Truro, Torquay and Exeter are registering some of the biggest price falls outside of London, with declines of 1.3%, 1.2% and 1.1% respectively, the report added.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “We’re seeing healthy levels of demand and sales, but this isn’t sparking faster price inflation.
“In fact, more homes for sale, particularly across southern England, is re-enforcing a buyer’s market, keeping price rises in check. Many more home buyers are paying stamp duty since April and want this extra cost reflected in the price they pay.
“While mortgage rates are holding steady, less stringent affordability testing has boosted buying power and is supporting more sales despite increased uncertainty.
“At the start of the year, we predicted house prices would rise just 2%, at the lower end of forecasts for house price inflation. Prices are on track to be 1% higher over 2025, half the level forecast.
“Greater supply of homes for sale and mortgage rates remaining higher than expected are the key reasons for weaker growth. Low house price inflation is not a bad thing so long as there is enough market confidence for people to list their homes and make bids to buy homes.”
David Powell, CEO Andrews Property Group, said: “The market continues to show incredible resilience, however the slow down in house prices is starting to impact consumer confidence illustrated by the increased numbers of properties currently on the market for sale.”
Matt Thompson, head of sales at estate agency Chestertons, said: “Compared to summer of last year, we have seen a more active property market which has been driven by an influx of vendors putting their home up for sale. This has given some house hunters a larger selection of properties to choose from which inevitably led to more contracts being exchanged.
“Some buyers, however, are still pausing their search in the hope that the Bank of England will announce another rate cut in August.”
Here are the postal areas with the highest annual house price inflation in June 2025, according to Zoopla, followed by the average price of a home:
1. BT – Belfast, 6.1%, £186,500
2. HX – Halifax, 4.2%, £175,900
=3. FK – Falkirk, 3.6%, £167,500
=3. ML – Motherwell, 3.6%, £132,000
=3. TD – Tweeddale, 3.6%, £176,000
Here are the postal areas with the weakest annual house price inflation in June 2025, according to Zoopla, followed by the average price of a home:
1. WC – London, minus 5.0%, £823,000
2. W – London, minus 1.5%, £768,900
3. TR – Truro, minus 1.3%, £314,400
4. TQ – Torquay, minus 1.2% £293,700
5. EX – Exeter, minus 1.1%, £308,800
