House prices fall for December but 'bounce' expected

That's in line with the usual drop experienced in December, and remains 1.4% higher than in December 2023.

A 'Boxing Day bounce' is expected as early-bird buyers and sellers make their moves, a trend which could be amplified by incoming higher rates on stamp duty.

Tim Bannister Rightmove’s director of property science said: "New sellers in December have to work particularly hard to capture the attention of Xmas-party and festivity-distracted buyers, and the 1.7% average monthly fall is a fitting gift for those who are still buying homes rather than presents.

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"Despite this monthly drop, prices have risen by 1.4% compared with this time in 2023,  broadly in line with our prediction of  a 1% rise in prices this year. We are now looking ahead to the traditional Rightmove Boxing Day bounce in home-mover activity, which has increasingly become a key date in the housing market calendar.

"Each year, our real-time data can pinpoint the exact moment that the turkey is finished, family games run out of steam, mobile devices are picked up, and prospective movers flood onto Rightmove and get their 2025 move started.

"If this year is anything like recent years, those early birds who get their search started the day after the festivities are over are likely to be rewarded with plenty of fresh property choice to consider.”

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said: “Across the year we have witnessed the housing market show an incredible resilience with strong growth across the entire year overall. We have, however, seen many twists and turns, with the housing market duelling aspects such as high inflation, challenging interest rates, uncertainty surrounding the general election in July and the aftereffects on subjects such as Stamp Duty following the recent budget.

“Into 2025, we hope to see progress on a number of key subjects such as Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will pave the way for the UK Government to kick start their ambitious plans of delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029 and help level out the current mismatch between housing supply and demand.”

Steven Holden, Director at Holden Copley in Nottingham said: "The property market has shown remarkable resilience this year, with sales activity remaining strong, which gives us optimism for a promising 2025.

"Naturally, December brings a seasonal slowdown in new listings as many shift their focus to the festivities. However, we expect the traditional post-Christmas surge in activity to kickstart the new year, with Boxing Day marking the beginning of a busy period.

"Getting a valuation now or early January will help put prospective sellers in a strong position to take advantage of buyers who are actively seeking correctly priced properties. While the market remains robust, we’re mindful of challenges ahead, including the anticipated impact of stamp duty reverting to previous levels in April.”