Latest: March property market report

February was a short month but that doesn’t mean we were short on property news. All eyes were on the latest Rightmove House Price Index to see how activity was faring. In summary, everything is on the up.

The asking price of newly launched properties increased in February. Sellers revised upwards to the tune of £1,805 – a 0.5% increase. This leaves a new average asking price of £367,994.

More sellers and buyers

The portal’s other key metrics show there’s momentum building as we head towards spring. The number of new sellers coming to market was 13% ahead in February 2025, when compared to February 2024. It was the same for buyer demand – up 8% year-on-year - and sales agreed increased 15% annually.

House prices rise

Another set of figures released in February illustrated how intent to buy is being converted into action. The latest Office for National Statistics report found UK house prices had increased 4.6% in the 12 months to December 2024. The new average UK house price of £268,000 is £12,000 higher than a year ago.

With rosy figures in sales, what about the rental market? The latest Landlord Trends report for Q4 2024 – a snapshot of sentiment carried out by Pegasus Insight – found landlords are more confident about buy-to-let now than there were 12 months ago. Of those questioned, 37% said they felt ‘good’ or ‘very good’ about their prospects. This may be linked to the finding that 62% of landlords planned to increase rents in 2025. 

Helping the positive picture is mortgage news. The number of buy-to-let mortgages available is at a record high, according to analysis by Moneyfactscompare.co.uk. There are more 2- and 5-year, fixed rate buy-to-let deals available now than at any time during its 14 year record keeping, giving landlords with all loan-to-value amounts more choice. 

The mood among Scottish landlords is also buoyant. The much maligned rent cap ends on 31st March 2025 and there’s anecdotal evidence to suggest there’s increasing investment interest as a result. Portfolio purchases are expected to be favoured, with multiple dwellings relief, and land and buildings transaction tax, creating favourable conditions when six or more dwellings are bought. 

The only blip appears to be moderating values for newly agreed tenancies. HomeLet’s latest Rental Index revealed UK rents decreased 1% in January 2025, with a new monthly rent of £1,271. This figure is still 0.9% more expensive than in January 2024.

EPC updates

Another area landlords will need to be mindful of is energy efficiency. In February, the Scottish Government announced a reform of energy performance certificates (EPCs). The major change will be their validity period – reducing from 10 to 5 years. The certificate will also take a new, digital format. 

Scotland’s EPC reforms feature some category changes. Domestic assessments will include two new ratings: heating system and heat retention. The heat retention rating will become the EPC’s new headline figure. 

Improvement cap to rise

A new announcement in February confirmed England and Wales will follow suit, to a degree. For starters, a new EPC system with updated metrics is expected midway through 2026. This forms part of the Government’s proposal to introduce a mandatory minimum EPC rating of C for privately rented properties by 2030. This will see the rating rise from the current E. 

The announcement also confirmed an increase to the improvement cap. This sets the maximum amount of money a landlord is legally required to spend on energy efficiency works. The cap will increase from £10,000 per property to £15,000.

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