The Current State of the Property Market in the North West and Wales
Article Produced by :-
DEESURVEYS colleagues Gavin Floyd FRICS (an RICS Registered Valuer) & Christopher Lewis ARICS, BSc (Hons) Building Surveying. Sources of data via the RICS UK Residential Market Survey.
THE RESIDENTIAL SALES MARKET
As you can see from the first graph below residential property values fell in general in the UK to a low point in 2023 and steadily climbed in 2024 but not to the rate of increase saw at the end of 2022, when % value increases reached a peak.
DEESURVEYS saw a significant increase in Home Survey instructions during the later half of 2024 and this continued into the first quarter of 2025, with parties hoping to beat the Stamp Duty increases to be introduced next month.
Throughout 2024 UK residential property values increased the most in Northern Ireland & Scotland and currently, over the last 3 months, Northern Ireland continues to show the biggest increase in UK residential property values; Scotland slowed down from the end of 2024 and this has continued into 2025 with the North West taking over as having the second highest level of residential price increases over the last 3 months. In Wales residential price increases have generally been at the lower level over the last 3 months, on a UK average basis.
The forecast over the next 3 months is for residential property values to continue to increase in Northern Ireland & at the highest rate for the UK, with the North West continuing to show the second highest % of value increases. For the first time in a while property values are expected to fall in other parts of the UK, including in Wales, as shown on the 4th chart below.
A snapshot of Land Registry Data for overall property values for Cheshire West & Chester from April 2024 to December 2024 shows an average increase of 3.8 % in residential property values.
THE RESIDENTIAL RENTAL MARKET
Turning now to the residential rental sector, indicators are showing a slowing down in UK residential rental values during the later part of 2024 and which appears to have continued during the first quarter of 2025.
The forecast over the next 3 months is for UK residential rental values to increase the least in London, followed by the North West and with the % increase in residential rental values in Wales anticipated to rise higher than in the North West, over the next 3 months.