The first of these is planning permission. It’s been a big industry topic for years but has been increasingly so since the new Labour government came into power, as they’ve vowed to review the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

The consultation launched earlier this year and closed in September, with some updates to the NPPF announced in December.

The update has brought in several changes which should increase SME housebuilders' contribution to the overall number of homes built, for instance, the importance of allocating small sites to SME housebuilders.

We hope that 2025 will see some changes to the current system, which continues to be one of the greatest challenges faced by developers and an obstacle to the 1.5 million housing target set by Labour.

With the temporary reduction in stamp duty brought in by the last government coming to an end in March 2025, we’re expecting to see a rush of sales go through in the New Year as buyers look to capitalise on the lower tax rates while they’re available.

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Therefore, we are anticipating a buoyant market in the New Year with house sales increasing in the run-up to March. However, after this date, there is a possibility that the housing market may temporarily dip afterwards – begging the question, will the government bring in any more incentives for buyers to get the housing market moving in the second quarter of the year?

The announcement of the new housing target and focus on brownfield sites by the Labour Government suggests that building on these sites may increase due to the increased ease of planning and construction.

Therefore, we are expecting to see more developers looking to purchase brownfield sites, which they may have previously overlooked. However, location and nearby amenities will still likely take priority when deciding whether the site is viable.

As we get closer to the Net Zero deadline, sustainable housing will become more prominent in 2025, as we see the Future Homes standards introduced next year.

We’re seeing more developers looking to provide more sustainable homes to meet buyer demand, as energy prices continue to be high, and homeowners become more aware of the benefits of energy efficiency.

In 2024 we’ve seen two interest rate reductions, now as we approach 2025, we expect a few more interest rate reductions, but perhaps not at the rate which we had imagined at the beginning of 2024.

While it’s positive news, it’s unlikely we’ll see sub-4 % interest rates for a while yet, but the market is stabilising which is good news for developers and buyers and something we hope to see more of in 2025.