Published: 06/11/2025 By Martin Ludeman
the housing market in tw13 and tw14 started very well in 2025, however, following changes in stamp duty, the spring market was seriously affected. first time buyer stamp duty became more expensive, and perhaps more importantly for our market, stamp duty rose to 5% for a second\investment homes, equating approx'£45,000 on an average 3 bedroom semi detached, this has caused a sharp reduction of buyer registrations. The market has flat-lined, and is urgent need of surgery, we hope that the november budget may assist, as a static housing market, will affect a lot of other industries, which would hamper any growth. a large segment of our market is made up of probate sales, these properties are generally vacant, and offer good opportunities to improve and extend, with the advantage of no onward chain, and therefor, a quicker timeline to completion. forest are very experienced at dealing with the complexities of a probate sale, and also the delicate emotions involved at such a sad time.Property prices are at best static, however, we believe that prices should not drop, and any small assistance from the government would see matters improve, with stable prices, this is a good time to move, safe in the knowledge that price escalations during the transaction, will not cause issues. Prices are currently realistic, and good value purchases can be found, we look forward to the chancellor delivering some better news for the housing market in november.