Press Round Up April 2025

Mon 19 May 2025

Property prices fell in March by 0.5 per cent on top of a fall of 0.2 per cent February, according to Halifax, as a result of reduced buyer demand following the end of the stamp duty holiday. Jeremy Leaf, principal of Jeremy Leaf & Co, told Forbes: “There’s no doubt many purchases were brought forward as a result of the stamp duty deadline, so we might have expected to see more of an impact on the data. Buyers and sellers who missed out on the stamp duty savings had the choice to stay put, keep to previously-agreed terms and continue with their move or try to renegotiate in an attempt to find some middle ground. The last option has proved the most popular in our offices."

The RICS report concurred with this view that house prices were flattening out following the end of the stamp duty concession, while new instructions from landlords continued to fall. Jeremy Leaf told The Daily Mail: “With lettings, we have found demand has been supported over the past few weeks at least by aspiring first-time buyers who were unable to profit from the stamp duty concession before it disappeared who were now looking to re-let.” He explained further in The Standard: "However, the continuing lack of stock and slow increase in the number of landlords wanting to sell has exacerbated the supply/demand imbalance.”

March also saw a 104 per cent year-on-year spike in residential sales in the run up to the end of the stamp duty concession, according to HMRC. Jeremy Leaf told PrimeResi: “Although these figures inevitably reflect the determination of buyers and sellers to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday before it ended at the beginning of April, many would still have been unable to do so. Since then, on the ground, we have seen very few withdraw although a fair proportion have tried to renegotiate in order to reflect the financial loss involved. Strong employment, complemented by healthy earnings growth in real terms as well as reducing borrowing costs in anticipation of lower base rates, are for the most part outweighing concerns about the wider economic picture."

Meanwhile, Rightmove reported that sellers had perhaps not caught up with sentiment as asking prices rose again in April, up by 1.4 per cent. Jeremy Leaf told City AM: “Attack is the best form of defence for some sellers. In our offices, we have noticed many want to tough out the loss of the stamp duty concession last month, keeping asking prices up and letting the market find a new ’normal’."

London had the fourth-slowest market for property sales in the first quarter of the year, according to property portal OnTheMarket, with average transaction times taking 59 days, and Havering the quickest place in the capital for a home to go under offer. Jeremy Leaf told The Standard: “In our experience, Havering has been popular with buyers because it’s generally more affordable than some other areas. Supply and demand levels there mean it is perhaps a little more straightforward to buy than other parts of London where there is a shortage of stock or historically high prices which are still prohibitive to doing deals."

A Daily Mail reader asks whether they can build a roof terrace without planning permission on a top-floor flat they are buying. Jeremy Leaf told The Daily Mail: “Use of the roof as proposed is unlikely to be straightforward - even though the buyer will have a share of the freehold so is gaining a greater level of control than is sometimes possible in a larger development where the freehold is owned separately… If it is possible to add a roof terrace it will not only add to the value, but help with the saleability of this type of property."

If you are buying a house with asbestos, it’s important to ensure you have specialist surveys done so that you fully understand what you are getting into – and how much it will cost to rectify. Michael Zucker of Jeremy Leaf & Co told Homebuilding & Renovating: “A specialist survey and estimate can be provided to confirm the presence of asbestos and the cost of safe removal and disposal. The cost will vary greatly depending to the extent and nature of the asbestos found.” Because it is expensive to remove, he adds, “its presence will certainly negatively impact the value of the property. [However], in some cases the vendor may agree to arrange its safe removal and foot the bill so it shouldn’t impact the sale price.”