The typical summer lull in Britain’s housing market has been avoided amid the availability of bigger home loans fuelling a “buyer’s market”, according to a property website.

Despite the signs of a bustling market, Zoopla said it had halved its house price forecast for 2025 as buyers were taking into account increased stamp duty costs in their offers in England and Northern Ireland.

The record number of homes for sale was keeping price rises in check, it said, with the average UK house price in June sitting at £268,400, up £3,350 (1.3%) from a year earlier.

Richard Donnell, the executive director of the research and insight team at Zoopla, described the housing market as being “broadly in balance” with the flow of new properties matching the appetite of house hunters.

“We’re seeing healthy levels of demand and sales, but this isn’t sparking faster price inflation. In fact, more homes for sale, particularly across southern England, is re-enforcing a buyer’s market, keeping price rises in check.”

While market activity usually slows during the summer, this is not happening this year. Buyer numbers in July are 11% higher than in the same month of 2024, resulting in an 8% increase in sales being agreed.

Earlier this year property experts had reported a dampening effect on house price growth after the end of a stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland on 31 March. However, recent government-backed changes to the way lenders assess mortgage affordability have served as a catalyst for increased activity, Zoopla said. Homebuyers using a mortgage can now borrow up to 20% more than they could as recently as three months ago.

With mortgage rates “holding steady”, Donnell said: “Less stringent affordability testing has boosted buying power.”

At the start of the year Zoopla predicted house prices would rise 2% in 2025, but it has cut this to 1%. While the index showed the annual rate of price inflation slowed to 1.3% in June, the report pointed to stark regional differences.

Source: The Guardian