In a buyers market, both Rightmove and Zoopla highlight the need for sensible pricing to help attract market interest, and with property prices in Wales up 2.2% year on year there’s plenty to read about in this month’s House Price Index overview.

In Brief

Nationally the market has seen – 

• The average price of property coming to market for sale rose by 1.4% (+£5,312) this month to a new record of £377,182. This is a larger-than-usual April price increase¹.
• The level of agreed sales falling through remains steady, with most buyers who missed the stamp duty deadline still proceeding¹.
• The queue of buyers completing home moves has eased by nearly 24,000, as many successfully beat the deadline¹.
• Mover activity remains resilient with new buyer demand up by 5% versus last year and the number of new sellers coming to market up by 4%¹.
• All Midlands and Northern regions are at new price records this month, while the South East & South West lag behind¹.
• House price inflation slows as demand cools and supply expands​².
• UK house prices increase 1.6% in the year to March 2025, up from 0.2% a year ago but down from 1.9% in December 2024​².
• Buyer demand 1% higher than last year, tempered by the end of stamp duty relief, seasonal factors, and economic uncertainty​².
• Supply of homes for sale is 12% higher than a year ago as more sellers enter the market. Sales agreed 6% higher than last year​².
• Relaxation in stress testing of  mortgage affordability by lenders could boost buying power by 15-20%, supporting sales volumes​².​

In terms of the Welsh property market –

• The average house price in Wales is now £268,816, up 2.3% over the last month and up 2.2% year on year¹.
• The average number of days for a Welsh property to find a buyer has fallen to 75¹.

¹Source – Rightmove

²Source – Zoopla

National Overview

Here is our monthly overview of the trends that Rightmove and Zoopla – two of the biggest names in the property market – have been seeing over the last month. 

Rightmove’s Insights – 

Rightmove is reporting that they’ve seen their first price record in almost a year, and that’s despite the number of homes for sale being at a decade-high. They believe that the greater choice of properties on the market is attracting more movers as they’re seeing a resilient market with both buyer and seller numbers up.

They say that the high level of properties on the market at the moment means that buyers are likely to have a good choice of homes to choose from. As a result they’re stressing the importance of being careful about setting the asking price – an overpriced home will stand out for the wrong reasons.

Rightmove also says that pricing right the first time is a key factor in finding a buyer. Homes that don’t need a price reduction are more likely to sell, and to find the buyer in less than half the time.

Finally, they highlight the diverse nature of the UK housing market, which is made up of thousands of local markets that each respond to market changes and world events. It believes that London is likely to see more knock-on effects from the US tariffs than the rest of the UK, while Northern regions appear to be performing better following the stamp duty rise.

Zoopla’s Insights – 

According to Zoopla, this month it has seen house price inflation lose momentum. Seasonal factors, including the Easter holidays, and economic uncertainty, such as the impact of tariffs, have cooled buyer demand, while supply continues to expand. 

It believes that over the coming months house price inflation will slow further, while sales agreed will continue to increase – they are currently 6% higher than a year ago. They expect lower base rates through 2025, supporting this market activity, and lenders are adjusting how they stress test mortgage affordability, which could boost buying power by 15 – 20%.

It says that while buyer demand was about 10% above last year in the early months of 2025, ahead of the changes in stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, demand has cooled recently. It is now broadly in line with last year’s levels.

Zoopla adds that house price inflation is slowing across all regions in the UK, although the current rate of price growth remains higher than a year ago. The number of sales agreed is also higher than a year ago across all areas. Sales agreed are up by double digits in Wales (14%), the North West (10%) and the North East (10%). 

It concludes by saying that it expects house price growth to slow to 1 – 1.5% in the coming months, with the market remaining on track for 5% more sales in 2025 – IF sellers continue to be realistic about pricing.

Regional Insight from Cardigan Bay Properties

We specialise in the property market in West Wales and monitor developments here throughout the year to give you the best, most accurate advice. We cover the key regions of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, and this month Helen Worrall, one of our founders, outlines the key trends we’ve seen through March 2025. If you’d like to find out more please get in touch. 

This month the market has again been very busy, with more new properties coming on for sale across the region. The reduction in interest rates has been a key part of attracting more potential buyers into the mix, and together with the wide choice of properties on the market it has resulted in a strong increase in sales over the last few weeks.

We’ve seen that viewings in April 2025 are well up on April 2024 levels – nearly 60% up for the month year on year. In addition the level of sales in April 2025 is almost double that of April 2024. 

In summary, the past month has seen a strong increase in both viewings and sales compared to the previous year, and while the number of valuations completed has fallen slightly, we are seeing continued interest and confidence across all of our regions.

Your Regional Insights

Here we give you an overview of the latest House Price Index results for our key regions – Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. Please note, that each month these figures are two to three months behind due to the Land Registry taking longer to register new sales, so this report includes sales up to the end of February 2025.

To help you follow the trends for these regions, the graphs below show figures from July 2019 (pre-Covid pandemic) to February 2025.

CEREDIGION

February 2025 saw a drop in the average price for all property types in Ceredigion – down to £218,823 (from £228,917 in January 2025). This breaks down as the average price for detached properties dropping to £293,422 from £306,999; semi-detached properties dropping to £187,141 from £195,902; terraced properties dropping to £165,592 from £172,997; and flats dropping to £105,313 from £110,409.

In terms of the yearly percentage change, February prices dropped by 7.2% overall, with the biggest drops reported for flats (down 8.9%) and detached properties (down 7.6%). Terraced properties dropped by 6.6% and semi-detached properties fell by 6.5%.

The fall in prices continues when you look at the monthly percentage change, which was down 4.4% overall, with all property types experiencing a drop of between 4.3 – 4.6%.

View the full Ceredigion report.

PEMBROKESHIRE

The average price of a property in Pembrokeshire fell to £218,714 (down from £220,533 in January 2025). This is seen as a drop from £319,528 in January to £316,746 in February for detached properties; for semi detached properties the average price fell from £201,342 in January to £199,545 in February; for terraced properties the average price fell from £168,522 in January to £167,339 in February; and flat prices fell from £120,319 in January to £119,473 in February.

The monthly percentage change in Pembrokeshire also fell slightly – down 0.8% overall, with detached and semi detached properties showing the largest drop of 0.9%, with terraced properties and flats dropping by 0.7%.

When we look at the yearly percentage change, however, the average price was up 4.1%, with the biggest increases seen for semi detached properties (up 5.3%) and terraced properties (up 4.6%). Detached properties were up 3.6%, while flats were up 1.6%.

View the full Pembrokeshire report.

CARMARTHENSHIRE

February 2025 saw a fall in the average property price in Carmarthenshire – overall it fell from £196,793 to £193,464. In terms of the different property types, all saw a drop this month – detached properties fell to £276,416 (from £281,178); semi-detached properties fell to £177,603 (from £180,863); terraced properties dropped to £145,793 (from £148,103); and flats fell to £94,552 (from £95,767).

The percentage monthly change also fell slightly across the board – down 1.7%, with the biggest monthly drops seen for semi-detached properties (down 1.8%) and detached properties (down 1.7%).

However, looking at the yearly percentage change, prices in Carmarthenshire were up 5.7%, with the strongest growth seen for semi-detached and terraced properties which both grew by 6.2%. Detached properties saw an increase of 5%, while flats grew by 3.8%.

View the full Carmarthenshire report.

CURRENT UK HOUSE PRICE INDEX

* As of February 2025, the average house price in the UK is £268,319, and the index stands at 102.8. Property prices have remained the same compared to the previous month, and risen by 5.4% compared to the previous year.

*Details provided by the Land Registry. For more information on the House Price Index please CLICK HERE

Please note that the stats provided by the UK House Price Index are live and constantly evolving.