What will happen to house prices and mortgage rates in 2025?

With 2024 drawing to a close, people may be pondering over buying a house in the new year. Existing homeowners may be wondering whether 2025 is the year that they should sell up and move, whilst first-time buyers could be considering if it's the right time to step on the property ladder.

2024 has been a transformative year in the property market, marked by significant changes in the mortgage landscape. Whilst we initially saw the first drop in the Bank of England's base rate since March 2020, now down to its current position of 4.75 percent, homeowners faced increased payments as previous fixed-rate deals came to an end.

The year has also seen house prices defy expectations, rising by 4.8 percent and now sitting at a record high of £298,083, according to Halifax, with most of the growth seen in the second half of the year.

House hunters have also responded to events like the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, as many put their plans on hold in the run-up to the Budget as they waited to see what measures were announced. The lack of measures to help buyers, particularly first-time buyers, meant this hesitation continued.

As attention is now turning to the new year, here we hear from experts on what the housing market could look like in 2025:

Jake Rowson, sales director at Ryder & Dutton which has branches across Greater Manchester, reflected on this year's property market. He told the Manchester Evening News: "2024 has been a fantastic year for the local property market, driven by falling interest rates and increased buyer confidence.

"Supply and demand also equalled out across the year, resulting in more buyer choice and large amounts of movement in the market, leading to a 20 percent increase in the number of our sales