Estate agents in a Buckinghamshire town said house prices in the area are unlikely to rise in the area until 2025, putting first-time buyers in a good position for the coming year.

Are you thinking of putting down roots in Marlow in the new year? If so, you may have picked the right time. After the news that average UK house prices fell by 0.1 per cent in the year up to September 2023, marking the first annual drop in 11 years, first-time buyers may well be tentatively eyeing the property ladder.

We decided to consult the experts, particularly concerning the state of Marlow’s housing market – previously described as practically unshakeable – about what would-be buyers can expect in 2024.

Michael Tudge, Manager at Simmons and Sons, 1 High Street, had a resolutely positive response, confirming that despite “a number of extraneous pressures”, the team had seen “great success across the sales portfolio” over the previous year and view the incoming one as “a wonderful opportunity” to advertise the appeal of the Thames-side town.

Mr Tudge said: “As well as the excellent high street, a significant pull to Marlow is the great schools that both the town and Buckinghamshire have to offer. We are seeing many locals either upscaling or downsizing as the local residents don’t want to leave!”

Alex Reid, Associate Director at Savills in Marlow, said that while the average UK house price is expected to drop by around 3 per cent midway through 2024, Marlow and its surrounding villages have “a history of bucking the national trend”, with the number of projected transactions expected to remain around the one-million-mark next year.

He added that he expects house price growth to “accelerate” only after cut interest rates help to ease affordability pressures – something that is “only likely to happen as we head into 2025”.

Ian Springell, Valuation Manager at Bonners and Babington said estate agents in Marlow generally see a “significant spike in activity” around Christmas and the New Year, with property views surging by up to 250 per cent in some cases.

Mr Springell added that the projected housing market for 2024 was looking strong for first-time buyers, with stabilising, and potentially falling, mortgage and interest rates helping to bring new homeowners onto the market and allowing second and third steppers to move up the property ladder.

“Ultimately, we just don’t know what is going to happen but the trends are looking more positive than we have seen in the last twelve months so we can only hope.”