Antony Roberts’ experts are often asked for their opinions on various aspects of the housing and rental markets. Below, is a selection of our comments which appeared in the press in January.
House prices proved to be resilient in 2025, according to Nationwide Building Society, even though speculation as to what could be in the budget led to much inaction. Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Antony Roberts, told The Guardian: “There is more optimism and a feeling of relief now that the budget is over. We do not expect house price rises and a racing market, more a return to the normal pre-budget market which has been on hiatus while everyone waited to see what the government would roll out.”
January can be a good month to launch a tricky property to the market. Amy Reynolds told The Times that she came across a house that was difficult to sell as it was near a busy road: “Then we got instructed on the house next door, even closer to the road, and we said to them, wait until January to put it on. They thought we were crazy. I said, ‘There won’t be any other houses and you get such motivated buyers. Your neighbour’s was really hard to sell.’ We put it on January and got two offers very quickly. That was the January effect.”
Average house prices fell to a six-month low in December, according to Halifax, with property values falling by 0.6 per cent on average. Despite this fall, Amy Reynolds told The Standard: “There are clear signs that the market is on a more positive footing.” She explained further in The Independent: “We’ve seen a genuine post-budget bounce, with improved buyer confidence and several sealed bids in December and already in January, something that was far less common last year.”
What’s the solution to prevent property chains collapsing? Amy Reynolds told The Times that she does not believe binding agreements are the answer: “Whenever there is a non-refundable deposit situation, it can take solicitors weeks to agree the terms,” she said. “I would be loath to go to any system where the conveyancers are more involved at the beginning and can slow things down even more than now.”
Given the high cost of moving, is renovating and refurbishing your existing home a better alternative? Amy Reynolds told Yahoo! Finance: “Think about how long you plan to live there so you can work out whether it’s best to stay and do nothing to the house, stay and extend, or move and pay the stamp duty and moving costs. I spoke to someone last week who said he will be in his next home for around seven years so he looks at any property with a view to exiting and what money will need to be spent during that time and whether it will be worth it.”
HMRC’s latest transaction data reveals a five per cent increase in transactions in December compared with the same month the previous year. Amy Reynolds told The Intermediary: “While this is not a runaway market, it is a far healthier one than a year ago. Transactions are gradually improving, and prices have proved resilient, particularly where homes are priced realistically. We’re seeing far more purposeful buyers than we did last autumn, and assuming interest rates remain supportive, the spring market looks encouraging with momentum continuing to build.”
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