More than 1.2m homes were sold across the UK in 2025, defying widespread perceptions that it was a weak year for the property market, according to new analysis from GetAgent.co.uk.
Based on Government transaction data, GetAgent estimates that 1,204,512 property sales completed last year, representing a 9.3% increase on 2024.
The findings suggest that, despite higher interest rates and prolonged uncertainty around fiscal policy, transaction activity proved more resilient than market sentiment implied.
England accounted for the bulk of sales, with 1,020,357 transactions completed in 2025, up 9.9% year on year. Wales recorded the strongest rate of growth, with transactions rising 10.3% to 52,945. In Scotland, sales increased 3.8% to 104,231, while Northern Ireland saw a 5.9% uplift to 26,979 transactions.
FRONT-LOADED
Activity was front-loaded in the first quarter as buyers rushed to complete ahead of the 1 April stamp duty deadline. Q1 recorded 339,600 transactions before falling back to 235,430 in Q2. Momentum returned in the second half of the year, with 309,440 sales in Q3 and an estimated 320,042 in Q4.
Looking ahead, GetAgent forecasts a further 1.2% increase in UK transaction volumes in 2026, taking total sales to around 1.22m and building on the recovery seen last year.
STRENGTH AND MOMENTUM
Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent, says: “We’ve heard a lot of noise around 2025 market conditions and how it was a tough year for the UK property market.
“While that may be true to an extent when it comes to asking prices achieved, transaction estimates tell a very different story, one of underlying strength and momentum.
“Of course, we did see a stamp duty fuelled surge in activity back in March which helped to boost transaction levels across the year as a whole but the wider picture is one of stability and growth which puts the market in great stead for 2026.”
