The UK housing market grew by 6.3% to £379bn in 2024, Savills reveals.
The data shows that this equated to 1.1m transactions at an average sale price of £343,822.
Market growth was said to be driven by a £22.3bn increase in spending on house purchases.
A £22.3bn increase in spending on house purchases was driven by a £24.3bn increase in the use of mortgage debt. This represented an 18.1% increase on the year prior.
However, while the equity put down by mortgaged buyers rose by £6.3bn (9.5%), spending among cash buyers fell by £8.4bn (5.4%), meaning cash and equity fell to 58% of the total spend on housing.
The greatest increase in mortgage debt was among first-time buyers, which increased by 21.4% totalling £12.2bn, which was fuelled by higher transaction levels and a slight easing in the average loan-to-value.
Savills head of residential research Lucian Cook says: “Total spending on UK house purchases shifted back into positive territory in 2024 as stability returned to the mortgage markets.”
“While the total size of the housing market is below its pandemic peak of £521bn, it remains £36bn larger than immediately before the pandemic.”
“Further interest rate cuts expected this year will mean that the range of buyers coming to the market will widen, and we can expect to see their spending power pick up over the next 12 months.”
