THE number of house sales hit a four-year high in October, according to property website Zoopla.
An estimated £113billion worth of homes are in the sales pipeline – marking the highest level of new sales agreed since autumn 2020.
Across the UK, around 306,000 homes are working their way through the buying process to completion, 62,250 (26%) more than a year ago, Zoopla said.
Momentum in new sales remains strong and looks set to continue into December, supported by a high supply of homes for sale, with many of the most recent sales completing in the first half of 2025, the website added.
Zoopla said first-time buyers and existing homeowners who previously delayed moving decisions until mortgage rates fell are helping to drive sales.
Rising incomes have also helped drive more sales.
First-time buyers are set to dominate the market in 2024, making up 36% of all sales.
House prices are on the rise, too, albeit at a modest pace.
Over the last 12 months, UK house price growth has increased by 1%, a significant improvement from the -0.9 per cent recorded a year ago.
This uptick in prices is being tempered by a large selection of homes available for sale and ongoing affordability pressures, which are keeping buying power in check.
Regionally, house prices are rising at an above-average rate in more affordable areas such as the North-East (2%), Yorkshire & Humberside (2%), North-West (2.3%), Scotland (2.4%), and Northern Ireland (5.6%)
However, house prices have slightly dipped in Eastern England (-0.3%) and the South-East (-0.1%).
Despite these regional variations, UK house prices are projected to be 2% higher over 2024 as the price falls from last year drop out of the annual rate of inflation.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: “It is positive to see the sustained increase in sales activity over 2024 which reflects growing confidence amongst buyers and sellers supported by lower borrowing costs and rising incomes.
“Overall, the market remains on track for a modest 2% price increase in 2024 and 1.1million sales.
“First-time buyer numbers have recovered as mortgage rates have fallen but a sizeable deposit is still required to buy.”
How to get the best deal on your mortgage
IF you’re looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what’s available at any given time.
There are several ways to land the best deal.
Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get.
If you’re remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you’ll get access to better rates than before.
Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home’s value is higher.
A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates.
And if you’re nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it’s worth looking for new deals now.
You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends.
Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost.
But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal – but compare the costs first.
To find the best deal use a mortgage comparison tool to see what’s available.
You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you.
Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender.
You’ll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all.
You can add the fee – sometimes more than £1,000 – to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you’ll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term.
You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow.
Remember you’ll have to pass the lender’s strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file.
You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month’s payslips, passports and bank statements.
Who else tracks house prices?
Halifax is part of Lloyds Group, which is the UK’s biggest mortgage lender.
Its monthly house price index is based on the mortgage data it holds and has been going since 1983.
It’s one of several key barometers of the property market.
The official measure of house prices is from the Office for National Statistics, which uses data from the Land Registry where the actual sold price is recorded.
This is the most accurate of all the indices, but the figures come out three months after the homes are sold, so there’s a big time lag.
Halifax and Nationwide each publish a monthly index tracking the average prices of homes on which they provide mortgages.
While they do adjust their figures to iron out big outliers, both lenders measure average house prices based on the properties they see.
As it’s based on mortgage approvals, this doesn’t include “cash buyers” who buy without needing a mortgage.
Rightmove also publishes monthly house price data.
Its data is based on asking prices from the property listings on its website.
The property website doesn’t consider the price a property sold for, like the ONS Land Registry, which could end up being higher or lower – and some might not even sell at all.
Here’s the latest data from other indices:
- Nationwide – house prices grew by 0.7% in September and increased 3.2% annually, with the average property now at £266,094.
- ONS – house prices increased by 1.5% in August and 2.8% annually, with the average property now at £293,000.
- Rightmove – house prices increased by 0.3% in October, and increased 1.3% annually, with the average new seller asking price now at £371,958.
The Sun’s view on rising house prices
By Laura Purkess, consumer features editor and consumer champion, The Sun
THESE latest figures are finally a sign that the housing market is recovering from Liz Truss’ mini-budget of 2022.
The latest data shows the Bank of England finally cutting its base rate for the first time in four and a half years has had the desired effect, with lenders slowly reducing mortgage rates.
High rates and a stagnant market have left homeowners with the thankless task of paying significant sums every month while seeing little gain long-term in the way of increased equity in their homes.
So, rising prices may give households looking to move some confidence to start looking around, which will hopefully lead to even more movement in the market.
However, while rising house prices and easing mortgage costs are good news for the market, affordability is still a major challenge for first-time buyers, and mortgage rates are still far higher than two years ago.
Further rate cuts, coupled with further support from the government to get people onto the housing ladder, will hopefully keep pushing the market in the right direction.