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House prices faltered slightly in December, but overall the UK’s property market was resilient in 2025, Nationwide says.

Robert Gardner said:

Despite the softer end to the year, the word that best describes the housing market in 2025 overall is ‘resilient’. Even though consumer sentiment was relatively subdued, with households reluctant to spend and mortgage rates around three times their post pandemic lows, mortgage approvals remained near pre-Covid levels.

Stamp duty changes that took effect at the beginning of April created volatility through the spring and summer. Activity spiked in March as purchasers brought forward transactions to avoid paying additional tax and this led to some softness in the following months. However, the underlying picture was little changed as demand held up well throughout.

Looking ahead to 2026, Nationwide now expects that annual house price growth will be in the range of 2% to 4%, as income growth is forecast to outpace house price growth, and economists expect a modest decline in interest rates.

Gardner adds the changes to property taxes announced in the government’s last budget are “unlikely” to have a significant impact on the market.

The high value council tax surcharge is not being introduced until April 2028 and will apply to less than 1% of properties in England and around 3% in London. The increase in taxes on income from properties may dampen buy-to-let activity further and hold down the supply of new rental properties coming onto the market, which could, in turn, maintain some upward pressure on private rental growth.”

Amy Reynolds, head of sales at the estate agency Antony Roberts in Richmond, said the expectation of continued lower mortgage rates should help restore buyer confidence this year.

There is more optimism and a feeling of relief now that the budget is over. We do not expect huge price rises and a racing market, more a return to the normal pre-budget market which has been on hiatus while everyone waited to see what the government would roll out.”