The UK housing market is set for a subdued year, as both Savills and Rightmove cut their forecasts for house price growth in 2025, reflecting a combination of weak buyer activity, rising property supply, and lingering geopolitical uncertainty.
Savills, one of the country’s leading estate agents, has downgraded its forecast from 4 per cent annual growth to just 1 per cent, citing a “weaker than expected” first half of the year. The revision follows a similar move by Rightmove, which now predicts a 2 per cent rise, down from its earlier estimate of 4 per cent.
The downward revisions suggest that real-term house prices are falling, as inflation continues to outpace nominal price growth. The latest data from Nationwide puts annual house price inflation at 2.1 per cent, compared with consumer inflation including housing costs at 4.1 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said geopolitical uncertainty—particularly stemming from President Trump’s escalating tariff policies—has made forecasting more complex and dampened activity in the housing market.
“Interest rates have fallen as expected, giving buyers more financial capacity, but a lot has changed in the past six months,” Cook said. “The prospect of future tax rises, particularly in the autumn budget, is likely to weigh heavily—especially at the top end of the market.”
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