UK housing market rebounds after budget as average price jumps 2.8%

UK housing market rebounds after budget as average price jumps 2.8%

The average house costs £9,893 more than it did in December

Mon 19 January 2026 at 1:00 am GMT-5

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The property market kicked off the year with a jump in prices, according to a new analysis, with the average house costing £9,893 more than it did in December — a 2.8% increase.

This is the largest price increase seen in the month of January, and the largest of any month since June 2015, housing platform Rightmove (RMV.L) said.

National average property prices are 0.5% ahead of this time last year as prices rebounded after the budget, the platform's research showed.

The so-called "Boxing day bounce" also spurred on the market. An early snapshot of activity shows that in the two weeks post-Christmas, buyer demand rose by 57% compared to the two weeks before Christmas, while the number of newly-listed homes for sale jumped by 81%.

January’s recovery brings average asking prices close to where they were in August 2025.

"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.

While the price of new homes coming to market has jumped, Rightmove urged caution to people listing properties.

The number of available homes for sale is the highest it's been at this time of year since 2014, the research showed. A third of existing homes for sale have seen a price reduction.

Price trends in regions and local markets across Britain are more volatile, and while most regions rise in price this January, the East Midlands and Scotland buck the trend with price falls.

Meanwhile, affordability in terms of mortgage rates is improving.

Read more: NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide and Halifax cut mortgage costs

"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," said Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert.

"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."

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