Buying a house can be daunting, especially if you’re in the dark about interest rates or the process of buying. But with interest rates starting to improve, more and more people are interested in becoming homeowners for the first time.
With that in mind, we’ll take a look at the state of the current market and go through the basic process involved in purchasing a house.
Current interest rates
Interest rates have been considerably higher in the last few years, however there are signs of this changing. As of March 2025, the average 2-year fixed term mortgage rate is 4.9% and 5-year fixed term mortgage rates are 4.74%. In 2023, the average 2-year term was 5.32% – so there has been some movement in the right direction.
The house buying process
Buying a house takes around 15-20 weeks on average, however for some it can be as long as six months.
The basic process of getting a house follows these steps:
- Find out how much you can borrow and get a mortgage in principle.
- Search for your dream home using an estate agent or online property search tool.
- Make an offer on your chosen house.
- If your offer is accepted, hire a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal process.
- Get a property survey (this is optional but recommended).
- Finalise your mortgage.
- Sign contracts.
- Agree on dates and complete.
- Start the process of moving in!
Services you may need when buying a house
Mortgage brokers
To find out how much you can borrow, get a mortgage in principle, and finalise your mortgage, you’ll need to use a mortgage broker. These can be independent or found through your estate agent.
You can technically complete this process yourself, but you’ll almost always get a better deal via a broker than you would be looking for yourself.
Estate agents
Estate agents are optional as there are plenty of ways to find the right house for you without the need to use one. Zoopla, Rightmove, and On the Market, are just a few popular (and free) online tools you can use to find a home.
Solicitors or conveyancers
Buying a house is complicated. There are plenty of legal contracts and processes that need to be completed and the best way to handle this is to hire a solicitor or conveyancer to act on your behalf. These typically cost around £2,000, so you will need to budget for this.
Should you buy a house in 2025?
Whether or not you should buy a house this year is entirely your own decision and depends on many factors, particularly regarding your financial situation. However, with mortgage rates slightly lower than they were a few years prior, now could be a good time to buy.
