Property deals outstrip 2024 figures as sales top £600m.

And estate agents are optimistic that the sales activity will continue as interest rates fall and with growing interest from off-island.

October saw 119 homes change hands, and with two months remaining, sales across both the local and open market had already exceeded those of 2024.

2025 has also seen monthly sales figures exceed the equivalent figure for 2024 in every month so far.

Andy Biggins, director at estate agents Maison, said he was not surprised at October’s figures.

‘It has certainly been our best month of the year,’ he said.

‘It looks likely there will be more than 800 transactions this year. It shows that people can find the necessary lending and are patient and comfortable with the process.’

Stuart Leslie, director and head of residential sales at Savills, agreed.

‘It is definitely an improving market and the interest on the ground has improved steadily as the year has gone on,’ he said.

‘But we have not seen that jump in sales until now.’

The 119 homes sold took the yearly total to 763, already 58 higher than last year.

Total property sale values at the end of October were up by more than £137m. over this time last year at £604m.

October saw the highest number of open market sales with 11, with five of those sales going to people new to the island.

Mr Leslie said that this was always a busy time of year in this area.

‘Anecdotally we see people from the open market coming over in the summer, getting to know the island, and following up with sales that go through towards the end of the year,’ he said.

However, he said the open market had not yet seen a huge jump often associated with a left-leaning UK government.

‘It would be disingenuous to say there has been a really marked improvement and sales have remained steady, but we have had many more enquiries. We will now see if they convert to sales.’

There were 21 sales of more than £1m. during the month, however Mr Leslie said this was no longer that unusual.

‘The increase is more being driven by the houses from £600,000 up to £1m. and that drive seems to be being pushed by a softening in mortgage rates,’ he said.

‘That slight drop has made things more affordable. It has been helped by a slight drop in house prices that have moved things along.’

Pierre Blampied, managing director of mortgage broker SPF, said that although rate drops helped, he believed that it was people entering the market for the first time who were driving an increase in sales.

The UK base rate is currently 4%. Mr Blampied said rates in Guernsey were around 5% and still higher than in the UK.

‘In theory any rate drop helps, but where we are seeing the most movement is with first-time buyers, that’s where we have seen the greatest uplift,’ he said.

‘The trajectory with interest rates is still downwards, but the rate of fall has slowed. Confidence remains but it is still a buyer’s market rather than a seller’s.’

Mr Blampied also said that he had seen an increase in interest in the Guernsey housing market from the UK.

‘I definitely think the open market will improve further once we have seen Labour’s budget at the end of the month,’ he said.

One slight disappointment in the figures was the number of new builds sold, with just one sale going through in October.

Mr Leslie said there were new builds on the market.

‘The problem remains the cost to build which is then reflected in the price,’ he said.

‘They don’t seem to have the same value for money at this point, despite the advantages that come with a new house. It is still a major issue to build new houses in Guernsey and make the sums work.’