What are 2025’s top housing trends?

The UK housing market is expected to close 2025 with about 1.15 million completed sales, around 4.5% higher than in 2024, according to Zoopla.

In its latest Year in Property report, the property listing platform has set out how buyers have been searching, which locations have moved fastest and where values remain highest and lowest over the past year.

Pricing: sharp gap between prime London and cheapest markets

Kensington and Chelsea remained the most expensive local authority area in 2025, with an average house price of £1,071,600. This was around 10 times higher than Inverclyde, which Zoopla identified as the cheapest local authority, with an average price of £109,400.

Excluding London, Elmbridge in Surrey had the highest average house prices, at £705,800. It was followed by South Buckinghamshire, home to Beaconsfield, often cited as one of the UK’s least affordable towns, where average values stood at £671,400.

Such wide regional differences remain a key consideration for lenders’ risk appetites, affordability assessments and product design, as well as for brokers structuring borrowing for clients across multiple markets.

Rural lifestyle drives most-viewed home

Zoopla’s most-viewed listing in 2025 was a three-bedroom detached house in Pencader, a village in Carmarthenshire, west Wales. The property, set in a rural location, features solar panels and outdoor space suitable for growing vegetables or keeping chickens, appealing to buyers seeking a more self-sufficient lifestyle while remaining near local amenities.

In second place was a six-bedroom villa in Prestwick, Scotland, set in about 11 acres of private land and marketed at £1.8 million. The home includes an indoor leisure wing with swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gym, as well as a floodlit multi-sport pitch.

Zoopla’s most popular listing on social media was the terraced house in Barry used as Doris’s home in the television series Gavin & Stacey. Priced at £220,000, the property sits on the recognisable steep street and offers an open-plan lounge and dining area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Seasonal peaks in search and transaction activity

Zoopla reported that January was the busiest month for visits to its website in 2025. This reflects the so‑called Boxing Day bounce, when interest picks up from Dec. 26, and the usual rise in new-year home searches as households reconsider their housing plans at the start of the year.

May was the month when the largest number of properties were put up for sale on Zoopla. The firm said this coincides with families using the spring period to identify their next purchase before listing their own homes.

Official figures from HM Revenue & Customs indicated that March was the peak month for completed sales, with 178,000 UK property transactions of £40,000 or more recorded.

Scottish markets lead on time to sell

Zoopla said the average time to sell in 2025 was 38 days, up from 35 days in 2024. Three-bedroom terraced houses generated the highest level of demand, accounting for 18% of buyer enquiries.

Falkirk remained the fastest-selling local market in the UK, with a typical time to sell of 13 days. West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and East Ayrshire also recorded an average 13 days from listing to sale agreed. All of the 10 quickest markets were in Scotland, where properties are generally brought to market with an upfront valuation and survey, helping to accelerate negotiations.

In England and Wales, Sunderland was the fastest-moving market, with an average time to sell of 23 days, the same figure as Bedford, Knowsley and Carlisle.

For lenders, intermediaries and surveyors, the Scottish data underline the impact of front-loaded information on transaction speed, while the modest lengthening of average times to sell across the UK may influence pipeline management and completion forecasts.

‘Garage’ over ‘tenure’ in search terms

Zoopla’s analysis of keyword searches on its site found that “garage” was the most commonly used term in 2025, overtaking “freehold”, which had been the leading search for the previous two years. Other frequent keyword searches included “annexe”, “double garage”, “acres” and “pool”, indicating continued interest in additional storage, outbuildings, land and leisure facilities.

The shift may reflect a market in which many buyers already understand tenure issues and are instead prioritising practical space and amenity features, particularly in suburban and semi-rural areas.

Outlook for 2026

Commenting on the report, Nathan Emerson (pictured right), chief executive of industry body Propertymark, said mortgage and housing professionals were operating against a mixed economic backdrop.

“While there are challenges that remain within the wider economy, it has been a year where the housing market has held its nerve and progressed forward,” he noted.

“Many people are typically feeling a greater sense of confidence than only a year previous, and with inflation forecast to trend further downward over the coming months, we may see the Bank of England feel that much needed self confidence to further implement the downward journey for base rates. 

“With the Autunm Budget also now behind us and with many people having a clearer picture of what the forthcoming months now looks like from a financial viewpoint; we hopefully should witness a positive start for the housing market as we head into early 2026.”

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