Quarter 4 2025 market review

Harborne & Edgbaston: Two Prime Markets, One Clear Message for 2026

As 2025 draws to a close, Harborne and Edgbaston are telling two different — but equally revealing — stories about where Birmingham’s prime property market is heading.

Both remain highly desirable. Both are driven by lifestyle, schooling, architecture and long-term appeal. But Q4 2025 shows a market that is no longer emotional, no longer speculative, and no longer forgiving.

This is a smarter market now. And success depends on strategy.

Harborne: Momentum Meets Reality

Harborne finished the year with healthy activity, but a noticeable shift in buyer behaviour. Demand is still there — but it is more forensic, more price-sensitive and far less impulsive than during the post-pandemic boom.

Key Q4 2025 figures (Harborne):

Available properties: 291 (↑ 11% YoY)
New listings: 106 (↑ 8% YoY)
Sales agreed: 85 (↓ 2% YoY)
Average asking price: £438,385 (↑ 10% YoY)
Achieved sale price: £376,348 (↓ 2% YoY)
Fall-throughs: 16 (↓ 33% YoY)

Stock levels remain elevated, sitting around 17% above the long-term Q4 average, although supply has eased meaningfully from the 328 homes available in Q3. The market is absorbing stock — just more selectively.

The real story is the widening gap between asking and achieved prices.

Sellers are listing at an average of £438,385. Buyers are agreeing deals closer to £376,348.

This is not a market falling — it’s a market negotiating.

The price per square foot on agreed sales fell 4% quarter-on-quarter, reinforcing that buyers are now prioritising value over urgency.

Yet some homes continue to outperform:

Properties near strong school catchments
Homes close to the High Street
Turnkey family houses
Well-presented homes priced correctly

These still attract competition and sell well.

Perhaps the most encouraging stat of all is transaction security. Fall-throughs dropped to just 16 — the lowest Q4 level on record.

When buyers commit, they are committing properly.

This is no longer a market driven by speed.
It’s driven by discernment.

For sellers, that means pricing for 2026, not 2021.
For buyers, it means choice, leverage and opportunity.

Harborne remains deeply desirable — but preparation now matters more than ever.

Edgbaston: Stability Returns to the Top End

If Harborne reflects intelligent correction, Edgbaston’s Q4 performance signals something even more important:

Confidence is returning.

After several volatile years, this prestige market is finding its rhythm again.

Key Q4 2025 figures (Edgbaston):

Properties for sale: 74
New listings: 27 (↓ 31% YoY)
Sales agreed: 24 (↑ 85% vs Q4 2023)
Average asking price: £692,589 (↓ 8% YoY)
Achieved sale price: £796,688
Fall-throughs: 6

Stock levels have normalised. Fewer homes are drifting. Fewer sellers are testing the market “just to see”.

The 31% drop in new listings tells its own story: vendors are timing their moves more carefully.

Pricing has recalibrated too. Asking prices are down 8% year-on-year — not a sign of weakness, but of realism.

Yet here’s the fascinating twist:

Achieved prices now exceed asking prices by over £100,000 on average.

This is not inflation. It’s polarisation.

The best homes — fully modernised period houses, Calthorpe Estate properties, architect-designed and turnkey family homes — are attracting multiple buyers and, in some cases, selling above guide.

Meanwhile, compromised or work-heavy houses are facing longer marketing periods and tougher negotiations.

With low fall-throughs and fewer failed listings, this part of the market is behaving in a far more mature and decisive way.

Edgbaston remains aspirational — but no longer forgiving.

It rewards:

Presentation
Precision pricing
Architectural quality
Lifestyle appeal

And it quietly punishes complacency.

The Outlook: Strategy Over Speculation

Both Harborne and Edgbaston are entering 2026 as smarter, more disciplined markets.

Harborne is more transparent, balanced and buyer-led.
Edgbaston remains elite, but increasingly selective.

In both, the same rule now applies:

Data, preparation and presentation have replaced speculation and emotion.

Having spent years working inside these micro-markets rather than just listing within them, one thing is very clear:

The gap between average results and excellent results has never been wider.

If you’re considering selling in 2026 — or simply want an honest, clear view of where your home sits in today’s market — I’m always happy to have a confidential, straightforward conversation.

Because strong results don’t come from luck.
They come from understanding.