Target comments on Property transactions figures released today

28 February 2025

Melanie Spencer, sales and growth lead at Target Group, said:

“While annual figures show a much improved picture to 12 months ago, another fall in monthly transactions lines up with the slow and steady start to the year some firms have seen. With transaction times as they are, the rush to beat the stamp duty deadline has already cooled – brokers have done the right thing by properly preparing their customers. Add in fears around inflation and higher interest rates, and we should expect a slight drop in confidence.

“Of course, much of the market is waiting with bated breath for the spring, where we’ll start to see the real impact of measures announced in the Budget. There’s no doubt this will be felt by households, as will an increase in both water and energy bills which will continue to push inflation further away from target. As a result, we now move into a more unpredictable interest rate picture – not just for March, which seems very unlikely to see a cut, but for the remainder of the year.

“The need to support the economy will hopefully prevent a too cautious approach from the central bank, meaning further cuts should come. This is key to keeping the market moving and productive – as seen in the annual figures. It’s crucial to alleviating the key affordability challenges felt by so many borrowers. As we have seen already, lenders will continue to do all they can to innovate – whether that’s on product or criteria – and will explore the right partners and integrations to unlock new product offerings and enhance their service offering.”