Here’s what’s going down in 2025 and what you need to do about it (this article first featured on Dwell Devon).
If you’ve been keeping half an eye on the property market lately (or even just wondering why every other rental on your street suddenly has a “For Sale” sign up), you’re not alone. And if you’re thinking of making a move to, or within Devon this year, you might be thinking: “I wish I knew someone who’s in-the-know”… It can be mind-scrambling, can’t it?
As someone in the thick of it day in and day out, Jack Merriott McMillian Duncan shares what Cross Keys Estates is seeing out there – trends, tips, and a few red flags to watch out for – all in plain English.
So grab a cuppa, and let’s dive in!
Q. What’s new in the UK housing market this year?
Honestly? Landlords are leaving. Fast. We’re talking hundreds exiting the market and we can’t blame them. Between the rental reform bill, the scrapping of Section 21, extra stamp duty charges, sky-high buy-to-let mortgage rates, and changes to tenancy laws, many landlords are just calling it quits, moving their cash into high-interest ISAs instead.
Meanwhile, housebuilders are trying to squeeze more homes into less space – think tall and narrow properties stacked over three or four floors. And let’s be real: cramming people into tiny flats isn’t solving the housing crisis. Most people still want a house with a garden, a space for the dog, or a safe area for the kids. Flats in big blocks are struggling, especially with the cladding/fire safety issues. Some are literally unsellable right now. Plus, lenders hate anything over 11 floors, and local solicitors aren’t thrilled about doing paperwork on blocks taller than six. So yeah, flats = band-aid, not a fix.
Q. How are interest rates and the economy messing with the market?
If a house is priced over £400k right now, it’s probably just sitting there. Buyers in that bracket usually sell to buy again, but with borrowing costs up, people aren’t making that leap. So, everything over £400k is bottlenecked, like property gridlock. No movement at the top = no movement below.
Q. Any advice for someone selling in 2025?
Watch out for sneaky agents. Yep, I said it. There are some shady tactics going around. Some agents are telling sellers their homes are worth way more than they really are – by 10–20% in some cases – just to win the listing. It’s called “buying the instruction.” Then, once you’ve signed a 6-month contract, their sales team nudges you to drop the price (and they get commission for that!).
Recently I saw a flat listed for £130k that’s worth, at best, £100k. It wasn’t even in great shape. So our advice is please work with qualified agents who are members of the National Association of Estate Agents.
Q. We need some good news, so how do you actually sell a house in this market?
One word: PRICE. We’re in a buyers’ market, and if you’re priced too high, forget it – no one’s even coming to view. No viewers = no offers = no sale. It’s that simple. At Cross Keys Estates, we love using guide pricing.
For example, if your home’s realistically worth £210k, we’ll list it at “Guide Price £200,000–£225,000” (with £210k as the reserve). That way, more buyers bite, viewings go up, and sometimes we even get a little bidding war going. More interest = better offers and, ideally, a smoother sale with chain-free buyers.
Q. Are there any cool marketing tools sellers should be using?
Oh yes! We’re big fans of TikTok for property tours and love using drones for those swoon-worthy aerial shots. Honestly, it’s crazy to us that some agents still don’t offer online floor plans – like, how are buyers supposed to plan a future without knowing what goes where?
Digital is where it’s at. Eye-catching video tours, smart social media, great photography – it all helps your home stand out in a crowded market.
Q. What’s the deal with Stamp Duty in 2025?
Ah, the good old property tax. It’s still here, still confusing. For most homes in Plymouth, it’s not a deal breaker, but just so you know:
£0–£125,000: no tax
£125,001–£250,000: 2%
£250,001–£925,000: 5%
£925,001–£1.5 million: 10%
£1.5 million+: 12%
So if you’re buying a house for, say, £295,000, your stamp duty will be about £4,750. Not nothing, but not the end of the world either.
Q. What’s happening with rental laws?
The EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rules are tightening up. Right now, rental properties need an EPC rating of E or above. But by 2030 (maybe sooner!), landlords will need a C rating to legally let a property – unless it’s listed.
So, if you’ve got a draughty old rental, it might be time for an upgrade… or an exit strategy.
Q. Will sustainability be a legal thing in 2025?
Yes, we’re heading that way. Think solar panels, ground-source heat pumps, triple glazing, EV charging points—and even bee bricks (yep, they exist). Right now, they’re “nice to have,” but give it a few years, and they’ll likely be mandatory, especially in new builds and through planning permissions.
Q. Should I make my home more eco-friendly before I sell?
Honestly? Most buyers today are still focused on two things: “Can I get a mortgage?” and “Can I afford to live here?” They’re not walking away from their dream home over a lack of LED bulbs or solar panels.
If energy costs keep rising, that might change. But for now, I’d say price out any upgrades – heat pumps, triple glazing, solar panels – and compare the cost to the value uplift. If the math doesn’t work, leave it for the next owner. Plus, if you’re in a flat, making those changes can be a bureaucratic nightmare (hello, freeholders…).
And there you have it – your 2025 property lowdown from the front lines. Got questions or need some help on your own buying/selling journey? Please feel free to contact us on 01752 500099 or email us HERE
Q: When is a sold house not a sold house ?
A: When your agent thinks an accepted offer is the end of the sales process not the beginning!
We all know the sales process is fairly straight forward, the right property, valued at the right price ( just to mention our valuation record is 100% accurate) with good photography and marketing will pretty much sell itself to a certain extent …
The benefits of using a reputable, credible, qualified, experienced and tenacious agent all becomes very obvious once the offer is agreed and the hard work of seeing the sale through to completion actually starts.
Here at Cross Keys, we are well aware of that and all take a proactive role in the sales progression, making the journey as smooth as possible for all involved.
Spending time in the offices of the local solicitors, we recommend and work with, has definitely benefitted every member of our team and given them not only a thorough understanding of the conveyancing process but also the confidence and ability to deliver the result everyone is working towards.
Sales progression is rarely smooth sailing but occasionally hits very troubled waters which is where the need to be tenacious and not give up really comes into play.
This happens more than we would like but after the blood, sweat and tears have faded and our vendors and buyers have all moved on, it sometimes becomes apparent that this was actually a rewarding journey and never more so than when it’s acknowledged and appreciated by the people involved.
One such instance is highlighted in the review below left for one of my amazing colleagues recently:
I would like to express how incredibly grateful we are to Cross Keys for all your help and support throughout the whole sale process of our parents’ house. I initially met Jack at the house to discuss the listing, and it was lovely to chat to him about the area, which he knew. Jack also took time to listen to me, and was really sensitive to the emotional aspect of the sale – this was very much appreciated.
Everyone we have spoken with has been friendly and helpful, but it is Fiona Hardie, our agent, that we want to thank the most. Throughout this whole (extremely stressful) journey, when at times we encountered huge obstacles, Fiona has been absolutely fantastic. Our solicitors were less than helpful, and Fiona has spent so much time chasing and relaying information to us, so that we were kept informed, and trying so hard to find solutions to our house issues.
Thank you Fiona, for listening to us, for your kindness in all our phone conversations when I cried, for your assurances, when we felt like giving up, that there would be a positive outcome, (you were right!) and for making us feel that you really cared – we really couldn’t have done this without you! You deserve far more than five stars and you definitely deserve the champagne I’ll be bringing to you very soon!
Nin and Shan Chana.
I would like to say that all agents would have the same devotion to the end result rather than just the sale agreed stats however, that’s not the reality.
I can only say how delighted I am to be part of a business and a team who see going the extra mile as the default setting.
Hello folks, hope you are all doing well, I thought I would just dive straight into this blog as it makes me feel a little bit more optimistic for the year ahead.
Last year the property sector finished with a flurry of transactions due to the increasing pressures placed upon landlords and anyone looking to buy a second home from the government’s implementation of new taxation and regulation with the “renters reform bill”. This led to many landlords deciding to leave the property rental market and cash in their property assets into cash assets and see them make a similar return in the bank’s interest rates rather than the commitment and costs of letting properties.
As a direct result, at the end of 2024, the market was awash with ex-rental properties on the market offering yields of anything between 7% and 14% on the larger properties or HMOs (houses of multi-occupancy), thus trying to make them sound lucrative to other investors, however with the 5% stamp duty now placed on any second/investment properties, other landlords have not been quick to snap these up.
The smaller single-unit properties, such as starter/first-time buyer houses or apartments, are a different story. These properties are ideal for first-timers and, therefore, the buyers will not be subject to inflated stamp duty. They are also selling in a good timescale. The only downside to this is that there will be less stock available for the rental market, which will, in turn, push the cost of renting up and, therefore, pass the burden of the cost of living on to renters.
In April though, we will see the current £250,000 stamp duty level be reduced back down to £125,000. Will this lead to buyers rushing to buy a house or flat early this year to avoid this increase? I think not. I reason that if a buyer were purchasing a house or flat at £250,000 they would be exempt from paying any stamp duty. If they buy after April, they will now have to pay £2,500 (the first £125,000 is stamp duty-free, then it is 2% on the remaining £125,000 = £2,500), I am not sure that when it comes to buying such a monumental thing as a house, £2,500 will stop them from buying it.
If you are a first-time buyer, you are currently exempt from paying any stamp duty on a property up to the value of £425,000. After April, though, the exemption will revert to the previous level of £300,000. I do feel that this will have an effect by causing a new ceiling price for first-time buyers to look up to the £300,000 price tag. Any properties valued or marketed above this price will not have the same sales momentum on the sales market from April onwards.
The first three months, January, February and March, usually follow the same pattern each year. It is not unusual for us to receive higher than the yearly average of domestic separations/divorce valuation requests, probate, valuation requests and repossession valuation requests. I call this our 3D season (Divorce, Death and Debt). This sounds almost comical, but we see the same repeat pattern year after year.
Unfortunately, inflation levels increased towards the end of 2024, and the forecasted interest rate reduction did not occur. If inflation continues to rise in the first quarter of 2025, interest rates may increase to counterbalance inflation. If inflation levels remain steady, then it goes without saying that interest rates should also stay at the same 4.75% we have now. This will be reviewed on 6th February, so watch this space.
Late Spring to early summer always tends to be a more favourable time to sell a property due to the days getting longer, the weather getting better, and everyone coming out of the winter blues. If you are considering putting your property on the market, any time is a good time if you are realistic with your expectations. Still, some agents are gilding the lily regarding valuations.
It is a sad part of our industry that a lot of either corporate agents or unqualified independent agents will add between 10% and 20% onto the valuation figures that they give to try and unfairly gain the instruction to sell your property over another agent who may have given an honest and factual valuation figure. We call this “trying to buy the instruction”. We all know roughly what our properties are worth, so if it sounds too good to be true, then it is more than likely just that, too good to be true.
Please check “Propertymark” for a list of all the QUALIFIED estate agents covering your area. You can also head to the Companies House website to see if the agent in question is working for a reputable company, or at the very least, you can google to see if there are any news reports on that business, whether the articles are good or bad. Ultimately, you must be happy with your choices, and we recommend doing some solid research related to your property circumstances and engaging a qualified agent to ensure you are protected as a consumer.
Please feel free to share this article on your social media so that as many people as possible can make informed decisions before making those big property decisions. Take care, everyone, and happy new year.
