UK house prices see slowdown in April following SDLT rush

According to today’s UK House Price Index from HM Land Registry, UK average house prices rose 3.5% in the year to April 2025, but growth fell on the previous month, with March 2025 seeing a 6.4% increase. The average price of property in the UK in April 2025 was valued at £265,000, 2.7% lower than March 2025.

The latest regional data continued to show significant regional variations in prices across the UK, with the North East leading the way with the highest annual growth of 6.4%. In contrast, South West house prices only increased in the year to April by 0.9%. Additionally, the London market saw a rebalancing of prices, with monthly growth of 2.6%.

However, there has been a certain rebalancing of prices with London showing monthly growth of 2.6% driven by cash buyers, bucking the national trend and the North East and North West showing falls of 8.1% and 6.4% respectively.

Stacy Eden, Head of Real Estate at RSM UK, comments: “Prices have increased at a similar rate to inflation in the year to April 2025, however the sharp monthly decline in April was driven by the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) bands reverting to a lower level. Property transactions were 64% less than in March 2025 and 28% less than in April 2024, highlighting a steadying in the market after the significant number of transactions in March 2025, boosted by the SDLT relief.

“It is no surprise that RICS reported further weakening across the sales market, with activity slipping deeper into negative territory as mortgage approvals fell for the fourth consecutive month to 60,500 in April 2025. This reinforces the affordability challenges for individuals looking to get on the ladder, especially in areas like London where surging rent prices are a barrier to home ownership. While additional funding announced in last week’s spending review was a welcome boost for the Affordable Homes Programme, there needs to be a scheme which replaces Help to Buy, which would bring more liquidity to the private residential market.”

He added: “The upward trend in house prices will likely remain steady throughout 2025, but is unlikely to decline given the shortage of residential properties in the UK, the ongoing supply and demand imbalance, and expected interest rate cuts. Individuals looking to purchase homes have expressed their concerns around global uncertainty and mediocre UK growth. While the government continues to prioritise building new homes as a key driver of economic growth, the incoming Infrastructure Strategy needs to accelerate planning reform and delivery to ensure housebuilding targets are realised.”