What's happened in the property market so far this year?

In the regular quarterly update looking at the latest statistics from Landmark, Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie is joined by Ben Robinson and Rob Gurney of Landmark to pore over the latest Property Trends report covering the second quarter of 2025. This is the first opportunity to review the impact of the stamp duty deadline on 31st March 2025, with a 79% year-on-year surge in completions compared to March 2024. There was an expected dip in April, down a third year on year and the interesting inference from the stats in the quarter's report is the subdued recovery, which is ongoing now in July, says Gurney.In the first half of the year the market is 8% up, driven by the SDLT deadline and with listing volumes up 5% on 2024 there is a desire to move; but with so many properties on the market, it's a buyer's paradise and there is much less urgency says Robinson, resulting in a realignment of asking price and reduced transaction speed. Summary of Q2 year-on-year activity for England and Wales:In England and Wales listings volumes were up 5% in Q2 ‘25 compared to Q2 ‘24.In England and Wales SSTC volumes in Q2 ‘25 were down 7% in Q2 ‘25 compared to Q2 ‘24.Completion volumes, in England and Wales, were down 20% in Q2 ‘25 compared to Q2 ’24.Listen in to this shorter podcast for the latest insight and opinion. The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views. Thank you to our podcast sponsors LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack