"While overall demand remains resilient, slower transaction timelines and rental affordability issues point to systemic issues that could dampen momentum if left unaddressed"
- Katy Billany - TwentyEA
The UK property sales market has remained buoyant in Q2 2025, with supply reaching its highest point since 2018 and demand climbing 7% year-on-year, according to TwentyEA.
New figures from the latest Property & Homemover Report by TwentyEA, part of the TwentyCi group, show that nearly 500,000 homes were listed for sale in the second quarter of 2025. Year-to-date, transactions are 30% higher than in 2024, underlining a robust market despite policy changes introduced earlier this year.
The average UK residential asking price now stands at £458,000, marking a £24,000 increase from Q1.
Impact of stamp duty reform
Although transaction volumes remain high, exchanges were down 8.7% in Q2 compared with the same period last year. This is likely due to the ripple effects of the April 2025 stamp duty changes, which are still working their way through the market.
Katy Billany, executive director at TwentyEA, noted, “Q2 2025 is characterised by strong transactional activity across sales and lettings. Whilst the sales market is experiencing rising supply, there are persistent structural challenges in both the sales and rental sectors.
“While overall demand remains resilient, slower transaction timelines and rental affordability issues point to systemic issues that could dampen momentum if left unaddressed."
“It is also the case that the recent Stamp Duty changes are still working their way through the system. This, in the short term, may lead to a cooling in buyer demand. Sellers may therefore need to adjust pricing expectations accordingly. In the medium to longer term, if inflation and interest rates stabilise, the market should rebalance, but affordability will remain a key constraint to activity and demand.”
Rental sector under pressure
Lettings activity also remains high, but the market continues to struggle with supply. Lets Agreed in 2025 are up 6.3% on last year and are now at their highest level since 2018. However, available rental stock is 19% below 2019 levels.
This imbalance is likely to persist, with 2024 net migration figures showing 431,000 new arrivals. Many landlords exiting the sector have further tightened supply.
The average asking rent rose to £1,814 per month in Q2, up £47 on the previous quarter.
Likelihood to sell varies by region and property type
Between January 2024 and May 2025, only 55.5% of homes listed in the UK went on to sell, according to TwentyEA. Regional disparities remain stark, with Scotland achieving a 77.7% likelihood of sale in Q2, compared to just 37.1% in London. Generally, properties in the North and Midlands were more likely to sell than those in the South.
Terraced and semi-detached homes performed best, with 61.4% and 60.3% likelihood of selling, respectively. Flats lagged behind, likely due to ongoing concerns around leaseholds, building safety, and post-pandemic buyer preferences for outdoor space and flexible living.
In terms of size, three-bedroom homes were most likely to sell (57.8%), followed by two-bedroom properties at 53.4%. Studios saw the lowest conversion rate at just 38.9%.
AI-powered tools for agents
Earlier this week, TwentyEA launched its AI-driven tool, SellScore, which calculates the likelihood of a property selling if listed. Used alongside the company’s Forecast tool, which predicts listings in the next two months, agents are offered a fuller picture of upcoming market activity.
Billany commented, “After 12 months of testing against real market outcomes, SellScore correctly predicted 86% of all property sales within the top 30% of properties it flagged as most likely to sell.”
Online/hybrid sales agents lose market share
The market share of online and hybrid agents continued its decline, representing just 4.8% of all property exchanges in Q2 2025, down from 8.2% in 2019.
However, there has been a shift in leadership within this sector. eXp has overtaken Purplebricks to become the leading brand for new instructions. Yopa remains in third place. eXp was not only the top online/hybrid agency in Q2 but also led the market nationally for new instructions.
Purplebricks saw a 25% drop in new instructions compared with Q2 2024, while eXp grew by 48%. The self-employed agent model now accounts for 2.3% of all exchanges, reflecting eXp’s expansion.
Online agents surge in lettings
The rental sector has seen sharp growth from online and hybrid agencies. These agents accounted for 18.3% of all new rental instructions in 2025, up 9.5% year-on-year and 121% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
OpenRent dominates this space, holding a 17.1% market share. Its growth continues, up 11.5% in the past year and 189% since before the pandemic.
Much of this growth is concentrated at the lower end of the market. In the sub-£800 monthly rent bracket, online agents now represent 25% of listings, with 17% growth over the past year.
