October Property Market Analysis

September 2025 wasn’t straightforward. Rumours of a change to stamp duty and a looming Autumn Budget slightly muted the market. Serious buyers and sellers, however, remained determined to make their move. 

It is a little too early to tell how the sales market fared last month as we’re a way off a full set of figures. What we do know is we’re in a period of reassuring stability. In fact, Zoopla’s latest house price index paints a resilient picture as we head into the final third of the year. 

More homes, more sales

The portal found sales are rising as people look to exchange and complete before Christmas. There are also more sellers in the market, with the average agent having 36 homes on its books. This is 8% more than this point in 2024, and 20% more than noted in 2023.

House prices are stable

Now to house prices. The portal found the average home increased £900 between June and August, resting at £271,000. When looking at how much house prices have increased in the last year, an average property’s value has increased 1.4%. That’s equivalent to £3,870.

There are areas where house prices surged ahead. Zoopla identified Kirkcaldy, north east of Edinburgh, Oldham in the north west, Tweeddale on the eastern Scottish Borders, Motherwell, south of Glasgow, and Llandrindod Wells, north of Cardiff, as areas where values are rising by more than 4%.

It’s not just location that can affect house prices. The tenure of the property has been shown to have a huge impact. Recent analysis of Land Registry data found freehold properties command a 29.6% premium when compared to their leasehold counterparts. Expressed in pounds, the average freehold home across England and Wales costs £310,000, versus £230,000 for a similar leasehold property.

September brought us strong indications that confidence is rising in the buy-to-let sector. Zoopla’s latest rental report told us UK rents for new lets are 2.4% higher now, when compared to 12 months ago. What’s more, newly agreed rents are predicted to end this year 2% to 3% up on where they ended in 2024.

Looking at rental value behaviour on a monthly basis, the latest HomeLet rental index indicated newly agreed tenancies are rising in cost. The average UK rent increased 1.1% in the last four-week monitoring period. This left new tenants paying an average of £1,328 every month.

An improving supply of rental properties

The unsustainable supply and demand imbalance is naturally rectifying too. Zoopla said the number of homes available to rent is 20% up on last year’s figure, which has ended the run of eye-watering rent rises. This, however, hasn’t affected a landlord’s prospects.

Zoopla found the UK’s average gross rental yield is currently 5.8%. Look a little closer, however, and the figures show there are pockets of ultra-attractive yields. Landlords should turn their attention to the North East, declared the best region for investors with an average yield of 7.9%.

Yields keep landlords interested

Zoopla said it was even possible to achieve yields in excess of 7.9%, with the right property investment. When it analysed UK city yields, the top 17 were all in the North of England and Scotland. Sunderland, Aberdeen and Burnley were the star performers.

With yields holding firm and a better supply of buy-to-let mortgages, landlords are feeling more bullish about their future. Of those questioned in a new survey by Landbay, 58% of landlords said they had no intention of selling any of their buy-to-let properties in the coming year. This is an upgraded figure, with only 47% of landlords committed to retaining their properties in 2024.

If you would like to know more about your local property market, please get in touch.