The average price of a home coming onto the market has risen by 2.8% (+£9,893) in January to £368,031, in what is Rightmove’s “largest ever” January increase in its 25 years of House Price Index reporting.
The portal says it is also the biggest month-on-month jump in any month since June 2015, with national average asking prices now 0.5% higher than at this time last year as prices “rebound” after the Budget.
It says the increase reflects a return of home-movers and a lift in confidence following several months of “muted” price growth in 2025, as activity picked up sharply in the weeks after Christmas.
An encouraging start to the year
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, says: “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.”
However, she warns that not all buyers will welcome faster price rises, and says prices have only returned to where they were in summer 2025, before Budget “rumours” began surfacing and “unsettled” the market.
Rightmove’s early activity snapshot shows that in the two weeks after Christmas Day, buyer demand rose by 57% compared to the two weeks before Christmas, while the number of newly listed homes jumped by 81%.
Busiest ever Boxing Day
Rightmove also recorded its “busiest ever” Boxing Day for visits to the platform, as movers began searching for their next home.
Babcock adds: “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.”
She says “a record number of visits” on Boxing Day and a “big bounce” in activity after the festive period have set the tone for a positive start to the year.”
But Rightmove, though, is also sounding a note of caution for sellers, with stock levels creating tougher competition.
Highest number of homes for sale since 2014
The number of available homes for sale is the highest it has been for this time of year since 2014, and the portal reports that a third of existing homes on the market have already seen a price reduction.
Babcock says: “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.”
She adds that a “twelve-year high” number of homes for sale means buyers have plenty of choice, increasing the importance of pricing realistically to secure a sale.
While the overall national picture is positive, Rightmove says regional performance remains “more volatile”, with the East Midlands and Scotland “buck[ing] the trend” by recording price falls this month.
Improved affordability
At the same time, improved affordability is beginning to influence buyer confidence, helped by falling mortgage rates and wage growth.
Rightmove says its daily mortgage tracker shows the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.29% — the lowest since before September 2022’s “disruptive” mini-Budget — compared to 5.03% at this time last year. It adds that the cheapest available two-year rate for those with a larger deposit is 3.47%.
Rightmove estimates that someone purchasing at the national average asking price with a 20% deposit would save “over £100 a month” compared with last year, which it says could help unlock more moves in early 2026.
According to Babcock: “Many buyers have seen their affordability improve with average wage rises outstripping average property prices.”
Mortgage rate cuts
She adds: “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.”
And Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert, says: “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.”
But he cautions that rates may not keep easing in the short term, adding: “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.”
