House sales in London are at the highest level since the Brexit vote dented buyer confidence, as the property market in the capital bounces back from almost a decade of setbacks, according to Foxtons.
The London-focused estate agency said it was handling the highest number of homes under offer since before the Brexit vote in 2016, as it reported that revenues and profits for 2024 beat market expectations.
Guy Gittins, who started his career at Foxtons in 2002 and returned as chief executive three years ago, said the London house sales market had been “riding high” until the Brexit vote, which hit consumer confidence.
“Once the Brexit vote was announced the number of sales each year, certainly focused on London, started to diminish,” he said.
He said a string of events since then had continued to keep London sales at lower levels, including changes of government, the pandemic and Liz Truss’s mini-budget which fuelled a rise in mortgage rates, affecting buyer affordability.
“The sales market has had a very tough time of it since the Brexit vote,” he said. “2023 was almost a record low level and last year was still historically quite low,” he said. “First-quarter 2025 revenue growth in sales … reflects strong under-offer activity in the fourth quarter.”
Earlier this month, the building society Nationwide said it expected a sales rush as buyers try to push through purchases to avoid paying additional tax when the government’s changes to stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland come into force on 31 March.
In September 2022, the government temporarily increased the nil rate of stamp duty, the amount before people have to start paying stamp duty on a purchase, from £300,000 to £450,000 for first-time buyers, and from £125,000 to £250,000 for those buying an additional home. Rachel Reeves said during her budget in October that this would be scrapped from 31 March.
Foxtons reported that adjusted operating profit rose by a third to £19m last year, as revenues grew by 11% to £163m.
The company pointed to “significant market share gains” in the home sales sector, as revenues in its sales operation increased 30% year on year.
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“The growth in the under-offer pipeline is partly driven by first time buyer activity ahead of increased stamp duty rates from April, which may result in some buyer activity being accelerated into the first quarter ahead of the deadline,” Gittins said.
“Early data indicates new buyer activity in 2025 remains above prior year levels, despite recent uncertainty on the interest rate outlook and consumer confidence.
“The speed and extent of future interest rate reductions will likely determine the level of buyer demand in the market, with faster interest rate cuts providing an opportunity for accelerated growth.”
Foxtons’ lettings operation, which accounts for 65% of total group revenues, grew 5% over the year and 11% in the final three months of 2024.