"It’s an encouraging start to the year to see sellers confident enough to list their homes at higher prices after several months of muted price growth last year, coinciding with more potential buyers returning to market"
- Colleen Babcock - Rightmove
The average price of homes coming to the market rose to £368,031 in January, a 2.8% monthly increase equal to £9,893. It marks the largest January price rise on record and the strongest month-on-month increase since June 2015, according to the latest Rightmove data.
National asking prices now sit 0.5% higher than a year ago, signalling a rebound in sentiment after uncertainty surrounding the Budget. Even so, supply remains elevated, with the number of homes available for sale at its highest level for this point in the year since 2014. Around a third of properties already on the market have reduced their asking prices, a reminder that competition between sellers remains intense.
The sharp rise coincided with a return of home movers following the festive period. Rightmove’s traditional Boxing Day bounce, combined with easing concerns after the Budget, is expected to lift activity, with early data pointing to a strong start to the year.
Key January indicators include:
average asking prices up 2.8% month on month
buyer demand up 57% in the two weeks after Christmas compared with the two weeks before
new listings jumping 81% over the same period
What’s happening with property prices?
Homes newly listed for sale increased in price by 2.8% this month, pushing the national average to £368,031. Rightmove said this was the strongest January uplift in the 25-year history of its house price index and the largest rise in any month since mid-2015.
After lagging behind long-term trends for much of 2025, particularly towards the end of the year, prices have now recovered to sit close to August 2025 levels. The rebound follows months of market caution linked to Budget speculation, which unsettled both buyers and sellers.
Regional trends are less uniform. Most areas recorded price growth in January, though the East Midlands and Scotland moved against the wider trend with monthly falls. Despite the headline growth, sellers face a crowded marketplace, with choice for buyers remaining high and pricing discipline still critical.
"It’s an encouraging start to the year to see sellers confident enough to list their homes at higher prices after several months of muted price growth last year, coinciding with more potential buyers returning to market," said Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove.
"Some buyers, particularly first-time buyers, won’t want to see prices rising too quickly. However, asking prices are only back to where they were in the summer of 2025 before the Budget rumours began surfacing, which unsettled the market and dented confidence. This new year seller confidence is a good sign, but sellers would do well to listen to the guidance of their agent when setting their asking price and avoid being over-optimistic."
"There’s a twelve-year high number of homes for sale for this time of year, so buyers have lots of choice, and a third of properties that were already on the market for sale have had a price reduction. This means that sellers need to be realistic and balance the price they want to achieve with the likelihood of being able to find a buyer in their local market at that price."
What’s happening with market activity?
Early 2026 activity data shows a clear rebound from the quieter December period into January. In the two weeks following Christmas Day, buyer demand rose by 57%, measured by enquiries sent to agents, while the number of newly listed homes increased by 81% compared with the previous fortnight.
Rightmove recorded its busiest Boxing Day ever for visits to the platform, underlining how quickly movers returned once the festive break ended. While demand over the past week remains lower than the stamp-duty-driven surge seen at the start of 2025, activity levels broadly match those recorded in 2024.
The coming weeks will indicate whether this early momentum carries through into the spring selling season, which typically delivers the highest levels of choice and transaction activity.
What’s happening with mortgage rates?
Mortgage rates continued their gradual decline into the new year following a steadier market through 2025. Rate cuts from major lenders late last year and into early 2026 have pushed the average two-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.29%, down from 5.03% a year earlier. It is the lowest average since before the September 2022 mini-Budget.
For borrowers with larger deposits, the cheapest available two-year fixed rate now stands at 3.47%. For a buyer purchasing at the national average asking price with a 20% deposit, this translates into savings of more than £100 a month compared with last year.
"It’s early days, but there are encouraging signs that more home-movers are now planning a 2026 move as we head towards the important Spring buying and selling season," Babcock said.
"A record number of visits to Rightmove on Boxing Day and a big bounce in activity following a quieter festive period have set the tone for a positive start to the year."
"Many buyers have seen their affordability improve with average wage rises outstripping average property prices. Mortgage rate cuts at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 will also support those who are looking to move and come as some very good news at the start of the year, with a typical home-mover seeing their affordability improved by around £100 a month."
"We’ve seen some further rate cuts from lenders at the start of the year as they look to secure the business of those making an early 2026 move," said Matt Smith, mortgage expert at Rightmove.
He added, "Mortgage rates have slowly but surely been coming down, to the extent that the average rate a typical home-buyer is likely to see is now the lowest since before the disruptive 2022 mini-Budget."
"However, the financial markets are currently expecting no more rate cuts until the second quarter of the year, with the Bank of England Base Rate likely to be held during the next rate decision in February."
"Mortgage rates are therefore likely to be steady for the next few months, with only minor changes up or down. Those who have been waiting for cheaper mortgage rates before acting might currently be seeing some of the best deals that will be around for a while."
