New research from Rightmove shows UK house prices have risen by the largest monthly amount in over a decade.
According to the findings, which were published on Monday (19th January), almost £10,000 was added to the average price of a home in the space of five weeks.
Rightmove’s data highlighted the average new seller asking price rose by 2.8% month on month, taking the typical figure to £368,031. This is the largest increase seen in January for 25 years and the biggest rise in any month since June 2015.
‘Although the Rightmove survey looks at asking rather than selling prices of newly listed homes, activity is definitely on the up, buoyed by falling mortgage rates and inflation,’ Jeremy Leaf, former residential chair or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said.
The increase in asking prices comes after the housing market recovered from a slump caused by speculation over possible property tax changes in the November budget.
Leaf added that buyers and sellers ‘breathed a collective sigh of relief’ after the budget showed property tax changes were ‘not as punitive as many expected.’
In addition, The Bank of England’s decision to lower interest rates to 3.75% a few days before Christmas also gave the market a boost.
Rightmove’s data shows in the two weeks after Christmas, buyer demand rose by 57% compared with the two weeks before, while the number of newly listed homes for sale jumped 81%.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: ‘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 the market.
‘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 summer of 2025 before the budget rumours began surfacing, which unsettled the market and dented confidence.’
‘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 added. ‘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.’
The data, which is based on tens of thousands of properties put on sale by estate agents between 7th December and 10th January, paints a more upbeat picture of the market that most recent figures published by some mortgage lenders.
Both Halifax and Nationwide said UK house prices fell in December, by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
Separate research from the estate agent Hamptons revealed private rents in Great Britain ended 2025 below where they started for the first time since 2011.
The average rent on a newly let property fell by 0.7% in 2025 and means the average tenant moving into a new property paid £1,371 a month, which is £10 a month less than 12 months prior.
Image: Jakub Żerdzicki/UnSplash
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