The October UK Property Market Slips… But Don’t Be Fooled
The number of UK homes sold subject to contract in October 2025 slipped 2.6% compared with October 2024, falling from 114k to 111k.
It is the kind of statistic that grabs attention, and some will no doubt use it as proof that the market is softening.
London carried most of the decline, down 11.7% overall. When London is split down, Inner London dropped 14.1% and Outer London 8.9%.
However, as number of house sales in London only represents a small portion of the national home sales, meaning that even sharp London falls barely dent overall UK figures.
(Inner London house sales went from 7,065 in October 2024 to 6,070 sales in October 2025 and Outer London went from 5,031 house sales in October 2024 to 4,620 in October 2025.)
The wider market, meanwhile, remains impressively resilient.
While sales volumes are fractionally down on last year, 2024 was itself a standout year with unusually strong spring and summer sales.
Also, we need to put things in context, because back in October 2023, only 87k homes were sold stc across the UK, and in 2022, the figure was 84k.
That means October 2025 still outperformed both those years by more than 24k additional sales, which is hardly the sign of a struggling market.
The takeaway? The market hasn’t stumbled, it’s simply taken a breather.
Your thoughts????
Christopher
The number of UK homes sold subject to contract in October 2025 slipped 2.6% compared with October 2024, falling from 114k to 111k.
It is the kind of statistic that grabs attention, and some will no doubt use it as proof that the market is softening.
London carried most of the decline, down 11.7% overall. When London is split down, Inner London dropped 14.1% and Outer London 8.9%.
However, as number of house sales in London only represents a small portion of the national home sales, meaning that even sharp London falls barely dent overall UK figures.
(Inner London house sales went from 7,065 in October 2024 to 6,070 sales in October 2025 and Outer London went from 5,031 house sales in October 2024 to 4,620 in October 2025.)
The wider market, meanwhile, remains impressively resilient.
While sales volumes are fractionally down on last year, 2024 was itself a standout year with unusually strong spring and summer sales.
Also, we need to put things in context, because back in October 2023, only 87k homes were sold stc across the UK, and in 2022, the figure was 84k.
That means October 2025 still outperformed both those years by more than 24k additional sales, which is hardly the sign of a struggling market.
The takeaway? The market hasn’t stumbled, it’s simply taken a breather.
Your thoughts????
Christopher
